We had the amazing privilege to hear from Aunty Patricia Koh this past Sunday. She spoke on the story of Esther and how God uses the ordinary to do the extraordinary. There were so many gems that Aunty Patricia gave us and amazing lessons – but I want to share a testimony that highlighted what she spoke on.
After our Sunday celebration, we had a leadership meeting upstairs in the fireside room. In the middle of the meeting, a gentleman found the church and came in panicked and frazzled – desperately looking for a “pastor”. Since we were all in a meeting, Theresa asked if this gentleman could come back next week as we were pre-occupied. His response was scary, “I may not be here next week, I will probably be dead”. Theresa quickly found me and asked me to meet with him.
I met with this gentleman, who was clearly in a desperate situation. He was nervous, sweating, stuttering, and overall not in a good place. He shared that he was depressed and suicidal. I listened to him and simply asked if I could pray for him. I laid hands and prayed for him and encouraged him. I gave him a $100 gift card to the grocery store and provided him with a phone charger to simply provide for his immediate needs. As I hurried back to our leadership meeting, Herman Lam started conversing and simply being Herman Lam.
About 1 hour after later, after the meeting, I came down to see this gentleman speaking with Wesley Wong. As I came to greet him again, it was as if he was a brand-new person! We fist bumped, he smiled, joked, and said, “you have very friendly fellowship”! Within 1 hour – this gentleman spent time with Herman Lam, Wesley Wong, Joseph Lee, and Arthur Lee (not sure if there were more) – but in that 1 hour he became a completely different man! He even excitedly shared that he would work on a business plan and bring it back next week for a review.
I couldn’t believe it! What had happened?! I was reminded of a story in the Bible from John 5. There was a broken man who was paralyzed, yet upon meeting with Jesus, he got up, picked up his mat and left. This man came in broken, depressed, and suicidal. He met Jesus through the people of Lifespring and left smiling and with plans to develop a business plan. Praise the Lord!
The most amazing part of this testimony though – the entire Lifespring leadership was upstairs and not available. The person who walked into the church were simply people in the Lifespring family. The gentlemen didn’t need a special “pastor” – he needed ordinary people who love an extraordinary God.
Thank you, Aunty Patricia, for reminding us – God can even work in and through us ordinary folk. Thank you Lifespring family for being a blessing. If you are reading this, take a moment and simply praise God and send a prayer for our new friend that the favour of God would be upon him. Amen.