Christ’s hope and peace in this tumultuous world
“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?“ Job 2:10
This was a verse which Phoebe read during her quiet time one month before our lives gotthrown into loss, disbelief and grief. When Phoebe read it, it was a reminder to hold on to God, especially when the world is in chaos with disputes, separations, broken relationships and international wars. On hindsight, perhaps He was preparing us for what was to come in a month’s time.
We know the story of Job – of how he went through a life of poverty, suffering, grief and pain. Despite all these, it was said that Job “did not sin or charge God with wrong” (Job 1:22). When Job’s wife rebuked him and told him to curse God and die, he responded with Job 2:10 and continued to be right before God’s eyes.
“Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” What a difficult claim statement. How can a good God also grant us evil? We live in a fallen world where Satan is still in action, but God is also at the same time in action and He is in control. He will turn evil for good; He will redeem the doings of the evil one for His own glory.
In late November when we were gearing up for a busy December of Christmas outreaches and celebrations, we received a call from Jon’s mother about his grandmother being admitted to the hospital. With her condition deteriorating and the doctor advising the family to gather, we had to leave Thailand on the same day of the call on a last-minute flight back to Singapore. When we rushed to the hospital upon reaching Singapore, Jon’s grandmother was already unconscious. We thank God for the opportunity to say our goodbyes and to spend a few last moments with her as she left to be with the Lord a few hours later.
Despite the sadness and grief, we were grateful for the unplanned time spent supporting Jon’s mother even as Jon was involved in planning for his grandma’s wake and funeral over the next few days. We were also encouraged to meet with those who were praying for us since we left for the field.
On the first day of the wake of Jon’s grandma, we received the shocking news that Phoebe’s dad had a fall while on holiday with family in Tokyo. It was such a bad fall that his heart stopped for 19 minutes, due to a broken cervical spine bone. He lost most of his mobility and had to go through three high-risk surgeries. After the funeral of Jon’s grandma, we flew to Tokyo to be with Phoebe’s family.
Despite the challenging time, God clearly showed His grace and mercy to us and Phoebe’s family in so many different ways:
- We were connected with colleagues from OMF Japan who helped us to arrange cheap accommodation in their guest home in Tokyo, and was ready to offer access to money should we need to pay for any upfront hospital bills.
- An OMF missionary in Japan translated a critical meeting that we had with the Japanese medical team.
- We received hospitality from Singaporean Christians who were based in Tokyo and they prayed with my prebelieving family members. Through this incident, Phoebe’s family saw the love and care of Christians, and expressed thankfulness to God.
- Phoebe’s family even went to church with us faithfully on all the three Sundays when we were in Tokyo! It was precious family time together where we could have spiritual conversations.
- Phoebe’s dad successfully went through the three surgeries without complications. He made visible small improvements each day after the surgeries.
- The travel insurance company also covered all the hospital costs and medical evacuation back to Singapore.
We believe all these happened because friends from Singapore, Japan and Thailand were interceding continuously.
Precious times at OMF Japan and Tokyo Baptist Church with Phoebe’s mum and two sisters
It is hard to handle tragedies when they happen so close to each other. Phoebe shed many tears and still ask God why something so terrible can happen to her dad. Indeed the evil one is at work and his schemes never cease. But we choose to focus on Christ the Victor who overcame with the work that He did on the Cross. He is the One who gives hope for the future and He grants perfect peace that transcends all understanding (Philippians 4:7). This is the reason why we can celebrate Christ and His coming in this season. May He come back again soon. Maranatha!
Amidst all the stress and craziness in Tokyo, we thank God that we had some time to explore the city, immerse in winter weather and experience Christmas markets.
Jon and Phoebe's thetomyumkongs journey. 