Let’s face it . . . being a Christian can be hard in the current climate of hostility—where Christians around the world face physical oppression and persecutions, and the Church is labelled “archaic” and “irrelevant” in its stand on modern issues.
This hit home for me as a university student, when a professor whom I highly respected stopped mid-lecture, having seen me with a cross necklace, to call me out and attack me for my faith.
Let’s name something that probably doesn’t get mentioned enough: The church as we know it today custom tailors a lot of its activity to the family. From ministry programs to sermon applications, even to the term “family-friendly,” our churches operate with families in mind as their primary audience.
As I prodded through those six months of painful waiting, I realized that throughout my previous experiences, I had not sought God’s guidance for my life, but leaned on my own understanding (Proverbs 3:5-6). Discontented with my circumstances, I had barged ahead and did what I thought best for myself—which led me down a path of unnecessary pain and meaningless striving.
Ten years ago, when I was graduating high school and facing the prospect of starting college at a public university located in the middle of a cornfield in western Michigan, I had a plan.
The primary issue with the Plan, (though, looking at it objectively, there are numerous), was that it was mine.
I finally did it! After two years of struggling with my research on lipid-protein interactions and writing my thesis on it, I graduated from National Cheng Kung University (NCKU) in Taiwan in January 2020.
I was excited about this achievement and had been thinking about the next step of my journey post-graduation. But I soon realized that God had different plans for me when Covid-19 threw my plans into uncertainty.
Fresh waves of anxiety threatened to pull me under.
Honestly? I felt like God had played me. I trusted Him when I left the business I co-founded. I trusted Him to order my steps towards purpose. And I trusted Him when I prayerfully entered that relationship.
In grappling with the COVID-19 pandemic, we have seen how personal choices can either help stop the spread, or infect entire communities. I see a parallel in my own spiritual life, where many small, seemingly inconsequential decisions have slowly affected not just my own life—but the lives of those within my own community.
These are the subtle sins.
As a business consultant, my job specialty is emotional support consulting.
I also specialize in needing emotional support consulting myself. Like my clients, when I am faced with change, I feel a combination of anger, frustration, and fear.
God is our Master Architect and Builder. He created the foundations of the earth from the very beginning. The blueprints He has drawn for His people, from creation to salvation, are laid out in minute detail.