A Healing God Who Walks with People

Angels Walking with Me

　　Despite the fact that I am a second-generation Christian in the family, I had never taken my faith very seriously. It was not until I encountered hardships that I realized God had quietly involved Himself in my life. I found that there were always angels standing by me, teaching me who God is and walking with me. Chaplains at school and mentors and ministers in my mother church always discussed matters about faith with me. After a period of religious pursuit, I decided to turn back to Christ and become a true Christian in Form 4. Gradually I resumed my fellowship life and was attracted to faith again. I discovered that bit by bit faith had changed me both in the way I handled people and things and in my world values: such new life was very precious to me.

　　I wanted to repay God very much. Looking back, I found that God had arranged a group of angels for me, including teachers, classmates, pastors, churchmates and speakers for various talks and sermons, all of whom made me understand truth. I wished to do more to model God. As a result, I took up the role of mentor for the youth and teenagers’ fellowship at church, hoping that I could walk with the younger generation and share with them Jesus’ sacrificial love. Thank God! I was surrounded by His love all the time! My ears heard of Him in the past but now I have personally experienced His company.

What Matters Most

　　I firmly believe that the most important and worthwhile cause in life is to let people know God as early as possible. In my first year at university, I once thought, “What a beautiful thing it would be if I could dedicate my whole life to the preaching of the gospel!” However, during a gathering in the Hong Kong Bible Conference in the same year, when the pastor called the congregation to make up their minds to take up full-time ministry, I said to God, “I hope I can focus on my work first. Someday in the future I will surely serve You!”

　　Despite this, during the Bible Conference in the following year, I heard again the pastor calling young people to dedicate themselves to God as early as possible so that they might have sufficient stamina to preach. Meanwhile, the pastor in my mother church reminded me that not everyone was so blessed to have the chance to serve God and in fact, someone had even passed away before getting admitted to a seminary. In 2017, I took part in a ministry serving refugees. This inspired me a lot and the urge in my heart became even stronger. Seeing that the refugees fleeing from war to come to Hong Kong were so heartbroken and desperate for love, I felt that God was calling me to show my care for this group of people and walk with them. At this moment, the only thing on my mind was that I wanted to devote all my time to serving God. On one occasion, when I was having quiet time on my own, I came across the dialogue between God and Moses, in which God assured him that He would give strength to those He called. That devotional experience had moved me a lot. I realized that God perfectly understood my inner weaknesses and struggles and that He would surely grant me all the strength I needed to face the difficulties in serving Him. To further confirm God’s will, I retreated to Taiwan for a time in solitude.

A Spiritual Journey in Quiet Time

　　After arriving at Taichung, I came to know a sister in Christ, who gave me a devotional booklet as a gift. I was very much impressed by the first and second passages in the booklet, part of which reading, “Dear Lord, please help us remember how precious it is to follow you. It is certainly worthwhile to put aside everything and follow you.” The following verses were also quoted: “and whoever wants to be first must be slave of all. For even the Son of Man did not come to be served, but to serve, and to give his life as a ransom for many” (Mk 10:44-45). I firmly believe that God was not only calling me by means of the two texts to put aside everything to follow Him but also recalling my memory of my first thought: God redeemed the lives of many by serving them. God presented to me all the past episodes of His walk with me so as to tell me to turn back. I also wanted to follow His footsteps by helping people experience God through serving them. The devotional time in the next few days also reminded me of my first thoughts. Coincidentally, the passages mentioned “watching over children and serving refugees.” God reignited my passion! I was eager to help people understand what matters in their lives: knowing God.

　　This experience during the trip allowed me to reflect. One day, when I was thinking about chances to preach the gospel, some friends staying in the same youth hostel as mine and coming from Korea, the U.S. and Thailand happened to have some questions about faith. I then had some discussions with them and shared with them my personal testimony. The experience allowed me to recapture the joy of sharing the gospel with others. Upon my return to Hong Kong, I pondered over the journey again: it was not a travel experience, but God’s dialogue with me!

A Resolute Start for Full-time Ministry

　　In a missionary trip to the Northwest of China in 2018, I came into contact with many Muslims and gained some understanding of Islam. After this, I realized the difference between our respective religions. They were deceived by fake gods. I also began to think about this: why did God choose me to become a Christian among so many others? What a great grace it was! Afterwards, in the Full-time Ministry Exploration Camp organized by the Hong Kong Baptist Theological Seminary, I recalled the grace I had received from God. Meanwhile, my family showed their support for my choice to pursue full-time ministry. At this point, I saw no more reason why I should not lay down my own self.

　　Thank God for His step-by-step guidance! I firmly believe that full-time ministry is what pleases Him much. It’s time I started my studies at the seminary, which will be the best way I may equip myself for the future. I hope I will be able to shepherd refugees and youngsters in future so that they may understand God is a healing God who walks with people.

　　Recently, with the outbreaks of social movements in Hong Kong and the pandemic around the globe, both Hong Kong and the entire world were covered with dark clouds. Everyone’s heart was filled with fear, anger and uncertainties. While many people began to lose faith in God because of this, I still have hope: God will surely exercise His own will in this age. I hope I will have more reflections in the seminary, understand God’s will, ponder over the direction for my future pastoring and know how to respond to society’s needs by comforting people with God’s words.