Above is a photo of me and my workmate at the Hillsong Conference held in Sydney three weeks ago. I sincerely believe that it was God's grace that brought me to this beautiful place, and had the opportunity to experience Him in a different level.
In my previous blog post, How My Investments Helped Me Attend the Hillsong Conference in Sydney, I wrote about how my investment was used as an instrument by God in the fulfillment of this BIG DREAM.
In this post, I am writing how the grace of God made it all possible.
Humility is Acknowledging that You are Where You are NOW because of God's Grace
Grace is defined as the unmerited favor of God. There were countless of times when I have experienced this -- that inspite of my sins, God still takes my life to new heights that even I could not comprehend.
When I became a writer for the Feast Bulletin although I never thought I had that talent to write, when I receive messages from readers of how my blog has inspired them, when people thank me for new learnings about investments after our meeting, when the testimony I sent to the Truly Rich Club was featured in one of the Wealth Strategies issue, when I was chosen to share how tithing has blessed me in front of tens of thousands of attendees at the Feast PICC, and recently, finding myself at the Hillsong Conference in Sydney -- I knew that in those instances, that was God's grace in action!!!
For those times, and many others, THANK YOU, JESUS!
My Novena to God's Love
We have this Novena at the Feast, a small booklet where we write our seven dreams. In January 2016, this is what I wrote in one of its pages:
"Lord, I pray that our Australian Visa application this year
with Ma'am Grace be approved so that we can grow more spiritually
through attending the Hillsong Conference 2016."
Our flight to Sydney then was on July 4. My visa was released on June 30. As I ticked off that dream above on my booklet, I could confidently say, "God, I am very sure that was You who did this! Thank You."
If you don't think that was grace, then I do not know what else could that possibly be.
And I Was All Set -- Well, ALMOST!
Remember in my previous post that I made tiny withdrawals from my investment for the conference registration, airfare tickets, visa application and hotel reservation?
Everything else has been arranged and paid for, except for one thing.
I have no pocket money.
And because I do not have a credit card and I choose not to own one (My friend has this joke of "Travel Now, Pulubi Later"), I felt uncomfortable leaving without enough money on hand. I have cash receivables, but the date of actually receiving them was indefinite. So, I was thinking then, if worse comes to worst, I am borrowing money from my husband for travel.
Some of you might ask, "Why borrow when what is his is yours, and what is yours is his?"
The answer is simple. My husband worked hard for that money. And I do not want to spend his hard-earned money for my personal "splurge."
But deep in my heart, I trusted God's timing which has always been perfect. I knew that He will provide.
Come Saturday, two days before the trip, after checking my bank account online, I told my husband that I am not borrowing money anymore because our incentives were remitted just in the nick of time!!!
We Are Exactly Where God Wants Us To Be
My visa application could have been disapproved, or it could have been released late.
But it wasn't.
Having no cash on hand could have made me think twice about leaving.
But God provided.
Maybe God brought me to Sydney so I could grow more spiritually, as I have prayed.
But more importantly, maybe God also brought me to Sydney, so that I can share to the world that through this experience, I can say again and again, that God is real.
Dream BIG Dreams
Yesterday, after writing a blog post, I received a message from my high school batchmate. The message says, "Hi Joan! Idol kita. Hope to be like you the soonest possible time."
Honestly, I was blown away by the message. Totally overwhelming. Knowing that I make an impact, no matter how small, inspires me to continue doing what I do. I think this is what God has purposed me to do -- to bless others through writing. Thank you very much.
But this is what I told her, and what I am telling you now, "I want you to be better than me. Keep praying and continue working on your big dreams. Claim that one day, it will happen. Start preparing NOW for that day."
If prayer is like asking for rain, then faith is carrying an umbrella.
Remember the story where there was famine in the land, and desperate for help, the people of the village held a meeting. "Let us pray," said an elderly woman. "Only God can help us now."
Among the people gathering for prayer, only a little girl had an open umbrella.
I encourage you to be like that of the little girl.
Today, God is telling you, and I learned this from the Hillsong Conference,
"Ask me something bigger than you,
So that I can show up and be God in your life."
God will not give less than what we deserve, but He doesn't give us more than what we ask.
God is waiting.
Stop protecting God with asking for small lives. We are here to prove that God is not powerless, on our behalf.
I hope this post proved just that.
God be praised! Be very blessed!
P.S. If you find this post helpful, kindly click the SHARE buttons and bless someone.
P.S. 2. I will be sharing more of my learnings during the Hillsong Conference in my next post.
