By Bianca Loh
January 22, 2021 marks a year since Singapore recorded its very first imported COVID-19 case. Life as we know it has changed so much this past year. Face masks, QR codes and social distancing are the accepted norms—things that were strange and foreign to us prior to 2020.
I am a planner by nature. I like to anticipate how my week, month and year ahead would look like. 2020 couldn’t have looked more different from how I planned it. 2020 was going to be the year that I returned to Australia to further my studies. It was going to be a restful year away from work, a time of self-improvement and growth.
Instead, less than six weeks after I embarked on this new adventure, I found myself scrambling to book a flight back home, serving out a 14-day stay home notice and returning to work in the hospital wards.
2020 was indeed a challenging year for everyone—our plans foiled and fluid.
Who is the rightful ruler in my life?
Over the last few weeks, I have been preparing to return to Perth to complete my studies. We’ve had countless Zoom meetings with the course coordinator, working through many steps to this new school year. Each time I felt hopeful of returning, bad news seemed to follow closely after.
With the multiple roadblocks and rejections, I started to feel very discouraged. I was tired from the ever-changing regulations, circumstances and constant uncertainty. It felt like an endless cycle of one step forward, two steps back.
When we started the study on 1 Kings this month, I was challenged to remember Jesus Christ’s rightful rule in my life. In 1 Kings 1, although the throne was threatened, it was eventually returned to the rightful ruler just as God had intended. God had promised a Saviour in the line of David, which was fulfilled in Christ’s death, resurrection and eternal reign.
This lesson couldn’t have come at a better time. As we shared about all the times we did not recognise Christ’s rightful rule in our lives, it was clear that I was trying to follow my own plan and it was leaving me troubled, anxious and exhausted.
Learning to trust in His Plans
As I reflect on the past year and how it panned out, I see God’s hand and blessings.
I remember how my flight back from Perth was cancelled three days before but I was then miraculously able to secure a seat on the last flight out of Perth before the travel restrictions. I remember how despite a scare in my department and the many close calls, my loved ones, colleagues and I were kept safe and healthy.
I am thankful for the growth He has granted me, for the lessons learnt from Hebrews in Bible Class. I marvel at how all the times His words encouraged me when I felt overwhelmed, and how I have established closer ties between my family and my team at work during this difficult season.
“Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth.” (Colossians 3:2)
I am also reminded of the great hope and true joy we have, that is much greater than anything we have on this earth. Though this world may value us for our profession and status, and in my case, my qualifications, we must remember to first value ourselves as His children.
This season, I will continue to trust in the Lord and His plan for me. I may not understand it at this time, but I pray that He will help me to see more clearly in due time. I consider how the Lord seemed to encourage me with these Bible truths whenever I needed them the most and remember that the Lord is good all the time.
As we move forward in 2021, let us remember Christ’s rightful rule in our lives, especially if life does not look the way we envisioned it to be. While we don’t know where our lives are headed, God already has it all lovingly planned out.