November 24, 2019

The Shepherd's Corner

THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER

When we were in Palu, Sulawesi a few weeks ago, during the Sunday service a teen-aged girl sang a song about God’s timing. With her beautiful and clear voice, she sang, “Even though it’s not easy to understand, God’s time is the best. Through trials I continue to believe that God’s time is the best.” After the service the pastor told me that the girl who sang the song had lost her home during the earthquake and tsunami that struck Palu a year ago.

It suddenly dawned on me why she chose that song: She wanted to testify to her unwavering faith in God. No matter what happened she continues to believe that in God’s time, He’ll provide. Through that song she also wished to give thanks to God because even though she had lost her home, she still had her family. Even though to that day she and her family had to stay in someone else’s home, they were at least together. For that she’s forever grateful.

Thanksgiving is not about the good times or the good things we have; Thanksgiving is about the Good God we place our trust in. If it were about the good times and the good things we have, we won’t be able to give thanks to God all year long and all the time. No, we give thanks to God for His goodness to us which does not always translate into good times and good things. His goodness translates into His love toward us, at all times and through all things.

Even though Peter Tan is no longer with us, I still remember the words he always said whenever I asked him how he was doing, “Better than yesterday.” For someone who sat on a wheelchair, the answer he gave spoke volume of his clear grasp on what it meant to be thankful. He was thankful to God because every day he could find something better, no matter how small it was; so can we.

Pastor Paul

More Shepherd's Corner Articles

The Shepherd's Corner - October 9, 2022
How do we measure godliness?  What is the chief characteristic of godly people? It is not by how much we know the Bible or how many Bible verses we memorize.  It is not by how long we can fast and pray; and it is not by how eloquent we preach.  We measure godliness by how […]...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - November 8, 2020
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER We can certainly picture life as a straight line, where we move from Point A to Point B, from childhood to adulthood, etc.  However, we can also look at life as a circle; we begin by lying down, to sitting down, and later to walking down, then back to sitting down, and [...
Read More
The Shepherd's Corner - January 03, 2016
THE SHEPHERD’S CORNER I really enjoyed our New Year’s Eve’s Service and Celebration. Seeing you come to God to give Him thanks for what He has done in 2015 and asking Him for His continued guidance in 2016 truly blessed me. Seeing you smile and laugh—and of course, dance—also made me happy...
Read More