Trust in the Lord with all thine heart ...
by Mrs Tan Poh Yok

“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” – Proverbs 3:5,6 

How true are these words from our Almighty God.  

A few weeks ago, I attended a conference with one of my teachers, Jane. There were about 450 pre-school teachers at the conference. At the end of the conference, Jane realized that someone had left behind a bag of newly bought teaching materials. When Jane tried to hand over the bag to the event organizers, they were reluctant to take it as they knew it was impossible to find its owner. Jane had two options – to just leave the bag there and not be bothered about whether it is returned to its rightful owner or to bring the bag home and look for the owner herself. She chose the second option. 

When Jane took the bag home, her husband who is a staunch Buddhist reprimanded her for taking home something that was not hers. He assumed that she was just being greedy and wanted to claim the teaching materials for herself. Jane explained that she was going to look for the person who had left it behind. Her husband scoffed at her words and said it was not possible to do so as she did not even know what the person looked like. 

A week after the incident, Jane and another teacher, HZ went for a conference for Chinese Language teachers at NTU. That morning Jane prayed to the Lord to direct her path and help her to return the bag to its rightful owner. She did not know how she was going to do it but she brought the bag along anyway. HZ is a non-Christian teacher from China. She has always been cynical about Christianity and constantly challenged us to prove that God is real. When she saw Jane with the bag of teaching materials, she questioned Jane about it. Jane told her that she wanted to return it to the rightful owner. HZ laughed and said in Chinese, “Is your God really that real?” 

Upon reaching the auditorium, Jane was taken aback that there were more than 900 people at the conference. Due to the large number of participants, the participants were housed in two auditoriums. Jane and HZ were in the main hall. They were seated in the front row. Jane was overwhelmed by the magnitude of the conference. She asked herself how in the world she was going to find the person she was looking for. It was like looking for a needle in a haystack. She cried out to the Lord Jesus and asked him for directions. 

During the interval, Jane looked around her but could not see any familiar faces. She told herself that she had to start somewhere, so she decided to start with those seated near her. She turned to the row behind her and started talking to the people seated there. She asked them if they had attended a conference two weeks ago. 

Lo and behold, a lady spoke up and said that she was there and that she had left behind a bag of things - teaching materials that her Principal had asked her to purchase. Her Principal was so upset, she refused to speak to this lady for two weeks! Jane casually asked her what was in the bag and the lady accurately described the bag’s contents. Jane then handed over the bag to the lady and said, “Here. I think this belongs to you.” The lady was shocked and couldn’t believe her eyes. She asked Jane how she knew where to find her. Jane said she had no idea who she was or how to find her but she had prayed that morning to God for help. She thanked Jane profusely but Jane said to her, “Don’t thank me. Thank my God.” Oh, what a wonderful feeling it was to know that the Lord Jesus watches over us so intently. Jane was very sure that it was the Lord who placed the lady behind her. Otherwise, in a conference this size, it would be virtually impossible to look for someone, especially if you have no idea what she looked like. HZ was totally amazed throughout the exchange. She said to Jane, “Your God is indeed real!” Jane told her it was a real miracle that had taken place and only the Lord Jesus has the ability to make it possible. Oh, what wonderful testimony.

For the next two weeks, Jane could not stop sharing this testimony with everyone she met. It was a declaration of God’s omniscience, a God who sees all and knows all. Jane also shared that she was amazed that the Lord had made it so easy to find the lady – one person out of more than 900. HZ, the other teacher, went back to the kindergarten and told the other teachers that she had witnessed a ‘miracle’ and that she would not have believed it if someone else had told her about it.  

Our God is indeed a real God. Let us all remember that our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ would never let us down. At times, like Jane, we are uncertain as to how or what to do but like her, we need to remember to trust Him and not to trust in ourselves. May all glory and praise be to the Lord Jesus.

August 2005