Let the weak say I am strong

There is a verse in the Bible that says "Let the weak say I am Strong" It is actually found in Joel 3.

Well, the weekend's service by PK was great and it set me thinking. There are 4 season of our faith. Therefore, our faith actually moves in a cycle. There will be different seasons for us. While we all love the fun times, we must know that the tough times are for us to grow. Pst said that he is glad the winter is cold and tough as if it is not cold enough, the bud will grow out prematurely. How true...

I begin to wonder and started looking around at the Christians near me. Are they weak or strong? Regardless of the seasons they are in, what is the attitude and outlook? Sad to say, there are certain individuals that give me an impression that they are pretty much weaker than they are stronger.

Let me give you a scenerio. There was once, I was reaching out to this girl and she came to church for a while and after a few weeks, she stopped attending as her boyfriend didn't allow her to. I asked her to invite her boyfriend as well so that he too, can enjoy the love and blessings of God. Well, she said that according the her boyfriend, Christianity is for those who are weak. People who are too weak to do anything in life and thus, need to rely on God's power and strength. It may sound like a sure issue about pride at first but if you think closer, it may not be too hard to understand why he has that perspective.

When I meet up with new friends who join us for service or cell group meetings, I would like to hear from them what do they have to say about the people in church. The recent comment I got was "Wow, the people here are all so young". It can mean two things: 1) high energy, enthusiastic, youthful kind of young or 2)immature, childish, naive kind of young....

I got a nasty feeling it's the 2nd one...

In church, we believe in love, in care and concern for others and it seems like it's always spring time. The time for new born. New Christians who have joined us can have this new life of love, joy, peace and hope. Yup, don't get me wrong, it is true. However, there will come a time whereby some pruning will have to take place. That is in preparation for the next level. It is necessary. I do not want to sound like a hard man or some militant general who wants to "tekan" the people for growth, but it is needed. Else, how would you grow? I have seen Christians who are forever in their spring time. It's been 3-5 years in chruch and to date, they still cannot take hard knocks. Totally dependant on aid. External aid. Cannot stand on his/her own. So WEAK. At the slightest defeat, they need all the attention from the CG and the rest of the world. At the slightest sneeze, they reported sick. At the slightest persecution, they give up and say that they cannot take it anymore.

Probably the most frustrating thing is that the people around them actually condole such behaviour and thus, they will never grow out of it. Instead of saying "Come on, you can walk out of it! you can do it!" they agree and together, they take pity with each other. It becomes a circle of boo-hoo. Job's friends? Haiz. Instead of helping them grow stronger, they are promoting weakness unconsiously.

When people try to intercept and push them a little, they are blamed for being to harsh and unloving.... ok, in love I'll leave you to die. Come on! the Bible says be strong.! pick youself up!!!! keep running, keep going!. It's like trying to train a BMT recruit and when he feels tired, let him rest. Come on! His 2.4km run will never be less than 12mins. His pull ups will forever be zero if he doesn't push himself more....

Faintz*

In companies, there are certain positions that state only Degreee holders need apply. The average salary for a fresh grad is about 2.5k to 3k a month. That of a Diploma holder is around 1.8k maybe? Both of them are clueless as they are both fresh. WHy is it that organizations are willing to pay that few hundreds more to hire a degree holder? well, I believe it is because of what a degree holder had gone through vis-a-vis a dip holder. Traditionally, it is more stressful in the uni than say, a local poly. This was told to me by poly graduates who took on undergrad programmes in NUS. People pay more to hire people who are able to take more pressure. Who are willing to inconvenient themselves more. Are they necessarily smarter or can perform the job better? Not necessarily. But, they are suppose to have better attitude. Those are the kind of people who can stand strong. They make things happen, they find various solution to solve a problem. Not the weak ones who just wait for people to take pity on them.

I want my CG to full of people who are strong, not weak. I pray they can see this and the benefits of being strong. What a blessing they will be to society. What great value they will be. Leaders are to be strong. They make things happen. They provide solution. They are problem solvers. They influence the situation. They take ownership. These are stuff which we have learnt in church. How many actually put it in action?

When we face tough situations, we be an overcomer. Yes, it is hard at times but our attitude stands firm. Our values are put to a test. PK's under fire at this point but look at his attitude! Trusting in God! Knowing what Jesus can do and will do. Awaiting deliverance but at the same time, there is so much to learn from this experience. I know that after this episode, Pst's sermons will be better as he has been through stuff. There will be more examples he can share.

I know of individuals who want to be CGLs. Great vision and goal but with the current lifestyle, what kind of examples can you put in the message of your sermon? Can you pack the punch? "Oh, I was unable to attend church for 3 weeks as I had a mosquito bite. Praise God I recovered." or "I learned that MRT will not arrive on time as I have been late 8 out of 10 services" or "I'm sorry guys, I do not know how to start a prayer meeting as I am always late for prayer meetings"... How on earth are you ever going to lead a crowd?

OK, enough said. Let's get stronger.. Together Stronger!