A Testimony of Repentance (Part Three)

The Spirit of God led me to this passage (2 Samuel 22) when I repented, and we made a decision to turn back and do that which is right in the sight of the LORD. Notice the date of this post, it was dated 28-August-2016.

I posted this Scripture for a reason. Two days before, on 26-August-2016, was the date when we returned to Singapore from Australia. It was just past midnight when I messaged my aunties, and we were in Changi Airport, preparing to alight from the airplane.

Isaiah 41:10 "¶ Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."

September 2016 was when I began job-hunting. Previously I had left the company which I worked for 4 years to migrate to Australia. I have shared in Part 2 of the testimony that life wasn't a bed of roses when we returned from Australia. There were great challenges awaiting for us, that, if not for God's grace and mercy, we would certainly not have pulled through. However, at that point, there was really nothing for us to hold on to except Scripture.

Ecclesiastes 7:12 "For wisdom is a defence, and money is a defence: but the excellency of knowledge is, that wisdom giveth life to them that have it."

That was a period of a fiery trial for me especially, because I was without a job and an income. I have looked for old friends and ex-colleagues, they tried but none could answer my call for help. I could only hold on to the words of the LORD, to depend on him to provide for us in times such as this. It was a time of unrest and uncertainty, and only in Scripture and prayers do I find peace. My wife too, now the sole breadwinner, was facing a woe of her own. The company that she worked with was now bought over by another company and she was faced with the possibility of retrenchment. A few of her peers have already been retrenched. Things were certainly not looking good. She too, started looking out for opportunities. But by the grace of God, she soon managed to land on a new and more senior role in another company as compared to her previous role.

1 Peter 4:12-13 "Beloved, think it not strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try you, as though some strange thing happened unto you: 13 But rejoice, inasmuch as ye are partakers of Christ’s sufferings; that, when his glory shall be revealed, ye may be glad also with exceeding joy."

However, that was not the end of that fiery trial. There was that niggling feeling of insecurity as long as I remain unemployed and without an income. There were a lot of tensions at home. So, months passed, and there was not so much of a prospect of me even getting an opportunity in my line of work. I couldn't even get a junior role or a temporary position despite the dozens of resumes I have submitted and the few interviews that I attended. By February 2017, after close to 6 months of intensive job search, I have basically given up hope of finding a job in my line of work. I decided to switch line to do some other things. That was when I went to attend a course for WSH Safety Coordinator hoping to start life afresh doing something different, starting from the basics.

Job 1:21 "... the LORD gave, and the LORD hath taken away; blessed be the name of the LORD."

Despite of all the challenges and tough times that I had faced, I found myself hoping against the insurmountable reality as I continued to commit myself to prayers and Scripture. In fact, there was no safe hiding place for me, except in Scripture and time spent with the LORD. Once, I even thought to myself: perhaps it was the LORD who wanted things this way. Nevertheless I found myself continuing to thank God for the little blessings that came along the way. At least now I had more time to spend with my daughter, to nurse her back to health. Among the four of us, my daughter suffered the most from this ordeal of migrating to Australia and moving back to Singapore. I thank God for the King James Bible, the pure word of God. If not for my Bible and every word of God, I don't think I can have peace while living through the trial of faith.

Isaiah 55:8-9 "¶ For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. 9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."

Three months quickly passed. Soon, I was about to graduate from the WSH Safety Coordinator course. Then one day, I received a call from my ex-company asking me if I would be interested in a new role in another organization which was linked to the previous organization that I used to work for. What happened was that I had previously approached my ex-boss in applying for a role that the company advertised related to the product I was supporting. Perhaps I was a little late in submitting my application, the role has already been taken up, and so I was kind of disappointed. Then I forgot about the whole thing and moved on. Little did I expect that the boss of my ex-boss took an interest in my return to Singapore, and he wanted me back to the company.

Proverbs 3:5-6 "¶ Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. 6 In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths."

As I have shared in Part 2 of my testimony, the company that I used to work for was in the process of being acquired by another company. This new role was originally created for the Japan headcount, but because of the push from the boss of my ex-boss, for me, the company actually transferred the headcount to Singapore. This was a role that I have not applied for, but it came to look for me instead. I was not even aware of the dynamics of things that have taken place behind the scene which led to this move. That, my friends, was the hand of God, the hand of my heavenly Father at work.

Job 23:9-10 "On the left hand, where he doth work, but I cannot behold him: he hideth himself on the right hand, that I cannot see him: 10 But he knoweth the way that I take: when he hath tried me, I shall come forth as gold."

We discussed the job package, and I told the HR that I wanted the same package I used to get before I left the company for Australia. They readily agreed to the terms. So, the LORD restored to me what I have lost, even though it took me 10 months to get back to employment. I started work on 27-June-2017, which is exactly passed 10 months after we returned to Singapore, on 26-August-2016, and this day being a new beginning for me. Sometimes I wonder why it was exactly 10 months, because the number 10 a reference to the Law in the Holy Bible, like the 10 Commandments. God gave the children of Israel 10 Commandments to prove them.

Daniel 1:12 "Prove thy servants, I beseech thee, ten days; and let them give us pulse to eat, and water to drink."

In this passage, Daniel and his three friends were "proved" for 10 days. Why 10 days? Why not 9 or 11? Attached here is an email showing the starting date of my new job, dated 27-June-2017, exactly passed 10 months after we returned from Australia, on 26-August-2016.