Filling the Empty Void – Sister Chew Elaine

Before Believing in Jesus

I grew up as an only child in a traditional Taoist family who does ancestor worship. As I had no other siblings to play with, my usual pastime is to hang around my grandmother or my great-grandmother. I would accompany them to temples on special occasions and help them prepare for annual prayers. One of my aunties is a Christian and she attends church at Pasir Panjang every weekend. She would bring me along to Sunday School if she had the chance, but always to the displeasure of my mother. I enjoyed very much attending Sunday School, singing and doing handicraft. But that was all I liked about being in church so far. As I grew older, I dreaded being dragged along for temple outings. To me, they seemed pointless and tiring. I did not understand why people would want to go through so many “tasks” in order to win the favour of the gods for only a year. Moreover, the pattern repeats itself again and again, year after year. I did not question them about my doubts. Perhaps, deep down in my heart I suspected that they too did not know the answer.

How I Believed in Jesus

I was approached by a member from Singapore Youth for Christ whilst waiting to begin my CCA after school one day. I did not understand the reason for wanting to hear her out when she asked me. I guess I had no reason to reject her then. I sat through patiently, listening to her as she shared with me about why we are sinners and need God, and what we should do to receive Jesus into our life to free us from our sins. At the end of her sharing, I remembered I said “yes” to receive Christ as my Savior after less than 30secs of consideration. As I said the sinner’s prayer, I felt peaceful. Honestly, I could not think of any reason to compel me to say yes back then. Maybe, it was the void that had been in me which was finally filled. I needed to please only one God, and He does not need to feed on my “good deeds” or burning of incense day after day. He is more trustworthy than all the gods I had encountered so far.

After Believing in Jesus

I was involved in Singapore Youth for Christ from 1991 until 1995. I shared the gospel with teenagers like me back then. I knew then that everyone should know Christ and what He has done for us. But I was not been growing spiritually in reading and studying the Bible. Back then, I had not been told the importance of grounding myself by belonging to a church. After I started work, I had a 10-year break from anything about Christ. However, I thank God that He has preserved my faith. God finally made me realise the need to go to church 3 years ago when my husband suddenly posed me the question as to why I had not been going to church. God made me understand that my spiritual growth in Him must not be stagnant. I am happy that now I have started growing slowly but steadily in God’s Word every day. Daily quiet time and prayer are now a habit, and I have set out to read a chapter of the Bible every day. By studying the Bible and knowing the right way to pray, I have found peace in times of stress as I know that God is always in control. “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness and all these things will be given to you as well” (Matthew 6:33).

My Journey with Christ – Brother Thian Hur Yun

I was born into a Buddhist family. My family prayed to the gods of Buddhism. We had an altar at home that is for worshipping the god. At that time, I had no idea what and who they were. But I just followed my family members in praying to their god without knowing the purpose behind it. It slowly became a habit and I also prayed to them for good results and good health. I had hoped that they would help me. In the year 2012 my parents brought me to a church camp. This was where I first knew Christ. Before attending the camp I had no idea what was going on. I thought that it was just an ordinary camp. After the church camp, my parents brought me to church every Sunday. At first, I did not like the commitment of going to church as I needed to wake up early every Sunday to go to church. I preferred to stay at home to sleep. Sometimes, I even gave excuses to avoid going to church. Initially, I was not a sociable person as I did not like talking to the church members even when they approached me.

One day, my grandmother was hospitalised due to an illness. At that point in time I was so worried for her as she was no longer young. I decided to turn to God and seek help from Him. I prayed for her repeatedly that God would heal her, and I am thankful that God healed her. From that time onwards I believe that God exists. I acknowledge that I am a sinner and Jesus is my one and only Saviour. I opened up to get to know Him better. I started attending worship service and fellowship more often. I also serve Christ by doing ushering and AV as I felt that this was what I could do for God.

It has been six years since I first knew Christ. I managed to make friends with everyone in the church. The church members are always there to help me, pray for me, and encourage me when I am in need. I am thankful for that. There is one brother in church whom I want to thank as he is always there to help me with my studies as well as my spiritual life. Looking back at my old self, I am glad that I have changed into a better person. Thanks be to Christ. It was the Lord who brought me blessings and love into my life. I thank God that I can be the light and salt of this world for Him.

The Lord Will Not Forsake You – Sister Xu Dan

I was baptised during the Chinese Lunar New Year in the year 2003. It has been 15 years since then. During that period, there were four years during which I was filled with bitterness and forsook the Lord completely. Days without the Lord were even more difficult. When I was at my wit’s end, I realised that only the Lord could save me.

Last year (2017), I returned to the Lord, and began to read God’s Word afresh. I selected the Book of Job. The words that Job said during his sufferings, I also said the same in my heart. I am grateful to God that He has preserved these words. He truly understands human nature. I also discovered my own sin—I harboured evil thoughts towards God during suffering. I repented and confessed my sins in tears. I continued, however, to ask God: “Why are there sufferings? You have the power but why did you not prevent sufferings?”

God made use of a mathematics genius to answer my question. In a television show this person demonstrated the ability to calculate rapidly the cube of a 6-digit number. As soon as the audience posed the question, the correct answer was given. It was as fast as a computer. The audience was astounded. This genius introduced himself: “I do not know from where this ability came. I could do it since I was little. My friends requested me to explain how I managed it, but no one could understand me.” These words led be to think about sufferings. It was not that God refused to explain it to me. Rather, it was I who could not understand the reason. God gave to this mathematics genius a little knowledge more than the ordinary person, and it was already beyond my ability to understand. How much more so it is with God’s wisdom. “As the heavens are higher than the earth, so are My ways higher than your ways and My thoughts than your thoughts.” God has personally said that these ways are ways of peace and not ways of calamity. We believe that God’s final answer will be the correct answer. Then, we will all exclaim: “We are astounded!”

During the days that I forsook God, God did not forsake me.  He saved me by protecting me from a fatal accident. The Bible passage that says, “for He will command His angels concerning you to guard you in all your ways; they will lift you up in their hands, so that you will not strike your foot against a stone” (Psalm 91:11-12), actually happened to me.

Our God is full of grace and compassion. Those who trust in Him are blessed.