Waiting, Listening and Obeying.
'Many are the plans in a man's heart, but the counsel of the Lord, it will stand.' -Proverbs 19:21
Firstly and fore mostly, I really want to give God all the praise and Glory for His grace and faithfulness through this year. As I write this I am completely done with my teaching placements and all that's left is to organise and submit my teaching practice folders tomorrow and then we have a valedictory lecture on Friday. I haven't heard back about my last essay which I had to re-submit but Lord willing, I will have passed and be a qualified teacher by Friday afternoon. Isn't God just amazing? Indeed, I have seen His grace made sufficient for me!
Of course, now that the teacher training chapter of my life comes to an end, a lot of people have been asking me what comes next. The last couple of weeks have been especially interesting in that respect as I've been reading Deuteronomy and the worlds "listen" and "obey" keep jumping out at me. Even in my primary school placement last week, I was sitting
in the whole school assembly and listening to the teacher telling the kids about Mary and Martha and how it was so important to listen. In church on Sunday, the message was taken from James 1:19-27 on the importance of listening first and then doing. It is so easy for me to think of all the different things I can be doing. All I had to do was sit and listen to my dad a couple weeks ago as he listed a myriad of possibilities ranging from finding a job back in Singapore to teaching in Cambodia or China. Looking at all these possibilities and suggestions by many other well-meaning friends was a bit daunting and even looking at the two main ones (teaching in Singapore or in Australia) seems a little overwhelming. I am definitely grateful to the Lord for this reminder to take the time to LISTEN to what HE is saying, to what He wants me to do and not just what I think may be a good idea. I find myself learning once again to WAIT on Him (that's right, it's THAT word again).
'you shall not listen to the words of that prophet or that dreamer of dreams; for the Lord your God is testing you to find out if you love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall follow the Lord your God and fear Him; and you shall keep His commandments, LISTEN to HIS voice, SERVE Him, and CLING to HIM.' -Deuteronomy 13:3-5
'But you shall seek the Lord at the place which the Lord your God shall choose... to establish His name there for His dwelling, and there you shall come.' - Deuteronomy 12:5
In any case, I'm not going to do nothing either and I'm also praising God for the opportunity He has given me not only to return to Singapore with both my parents next week but also for the chance to go to Sydney (and Perth afterwards) to "spy out the land" as it were. I'm only in Sydney for about a week so I'm not really sure how much exploring I can do in terms of looking for a teaching job and so on but I trust that God is more than able to reveal His plans in His own perfect timing and if He would have me not go there, I trust that my visit would still not be in vain as I look forward to catching up with various friends. Praise God for Denise who has offered her place for me to stay when I'm there!
One answer to prayer after another, our latest newsletter is also "done" in the sense that I managed to send it off to the printers before the deadline. I am continuing to pray that they will arrive before we leave for Singapore in a week (Please note that our itinerary has been updated with loads of changes). In case you didn't know, you can read a soft copy of it on our main family blog (www.ganfamily.blogspot.com) if you didn't get it through our email and if you would like to get a copy in the future, please do let us know.
And so, I thank you for continuing to stand with me in prayer, trusting that God will make everything beautiful in His time and knowing that there is nothing better to do now than to rejoice and be faithful in doing good (Ecclesiastes 3:11-12).
