The Chinese in Singapore has a tradition of eating “lo-hei” or “鱼生” together with their family, colleagues or friends during the Chinese New Year period. It’s a dish filled with symbolic ingredients, where the partakers will toss its contents high in the air, an act which symbolizes rising success in various aspects of life, before eating them (of course!)
“Lo-hei” reflects the natural desire to be successful in various aspects of life. For students, it’s probably their studies; for working adults, career comes to mind; and for business people, it’s obviously going to be their business. Most Christians would also desire to be successful in some, if not all, of their undertakings at the turn of the year.
As with every year that comes and goes, God may allow certain challenges in our workplace, school, church, etc. To meet such challenges successfully, a believer needs to do more than eat “lo-hei”, and the Bible certainly has something to say in this regards.
Look no further than the book of Proverbs, which is the collection of wise sayings of sages. It observes life and provides invaluable insight into it. The key to success in life, according to Proverbs 16:3, is this: “Commit to the LORD whatever you do, and your plans will succeed”.
The first step to success is to commit to the Lord whatever work or ministries we undertake this year. “To commit,” means to entrust or place our plan in God’s care. When this happens, He will be there to direct us and to work through every situation towards His good purpose for His kingdom and us.
The main problem for most people is the difficulty of completely leaving their plans in God’s hands. One possible reason is the lack of faith in God. Man tends to trust in his own understanding, wisdom, strength and power more than God’s. He expects God to do things according to his ways and timing. Because of this, people become unduly worried, anxious and stressful when things do not turn out the way they expect. That’s when discouragement may set in, and eventually leading to a person quitting what he set out to do initially. Failure comes about not because God is unable to help us, but because of our lack of trust in what God can do for us according to His perfect will.
To entrust our undertakings to God, we must learn how to trust in God, and that goes without saying. We must acknowledge the truth that God knows everything, now and in the future, and that His ways are perfect. Leave our undertakings completely in His hands. Imagine God to be our manager and us His workers, whose main responsibility is simply to take instructions from the manager. With God in the manager’s seat, we can be spared from every unnecessary anxiety. No matter what happens, we know that He is in control, and with that comes peace of mind and the much-needed assurance that He will see us through.
God is faithful, and will not suffer us to be defeated, even in the face of steep challenges. We can be confident in God’s guidance, knowing that God will come in at the right moments to guide or instruct us. God is all-powerful; nothing is impossible for Him. All God requires is that we faithfully and obediently abide by His instructions and timing. Know that God loves us, and that His purpose for us is good and not to harm us. Learn to rest in His goodness no matter what happens, and trust Him to “lo-hei” the success of our plans & overcoming challenges.
If you do not know Jesus Christ as your personal Lord and Savior, start this year by inviting Him to be yours. Then learn to commit your plans and challenges to God, and let Him do the “lo-hei”.
Join me in the following prayer with sincerity and anticipation of God’s answer:
Father God in heaven,
I want to be a Christian. I believe that Jesus is the Son of God. He died for my sins and rose again. Please forgive me of my sins. Please come into my life to be my Lord and Savior.
Holy Spirit, please come and dwell in me, directing me in every aspect of my life. Please make God so real to me. Help me know God personally. Set me free from all worry, anxiety and stress. Help me commit my undertakings completely to the loving and mighty hands of God. Bless me with success in my undertakings according to Your will this year.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
Pastor Sarah
Category: cf_ps
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