My building blocks of faith

As a Christian, I have often vacillated between manic fervour for God and total disinterest in Him. I'm not proud of my attitude and I still need a lot of God's refining fire. I'm just extremely thankful to God for His mercy and His promise that He will forgive us when we repent of our sins because of the blood that Jesus shed on the cross for us.

One of my pastors told me that when she prays, she thanks God for His grace and pleads with Him for His mercy first. At this juncture, I finally understand why she always starts her prayers in that manner. I'm beginning to do so, too.

It has taken me this long to appreciate the full weight and meaning of these words: "there but for the grace of God, go I". God shows mercy and grace to every single soul who answers His call and who accepts Jesus Christ as Lord and Saviour. He extends His love to us even when we stumble and fall and when we grow cold towards him. There is nothing we can do to make Him love us any less and nothing we can do to make Him love us any more. God loves us.

I feel that I have been blessed more than some other Christians because in my life, God has given me two visions that have enabled me to have child-like faith in Him.

The first vision came when my uncle died suddenly in a drowning accident about 22 years ago. I was devastated because I never got around to thanking him for all he had done for my family. He was integral in ensuring that my elder sister and I took our studies seriously and both of us ended up getting a university education even though our parents were not highly educated.

Every weekend during our school days, he would drive us to his place and ensure that we studied and did our homework. He was very strict with us in other aspects of our lives as well.

The night after he died, I was in bed and I asked God: "God, where is my uncle now?" God showed me a vision of a bright and shining sword in the shape of a cross and said: "Child, he is safe with me." The impact on me was tremendous and I had peace in my heart. The vision also led me at a very young age to believe in God. (I can hardly wait to see my uncle, thank him and hug him in heaven.)

God gave me the second vision when the Holy Spirit opened my heart to the Gospel and I accepted Jesus Christ as my Lord and Saviour six years ago. It was of me standing on two very gigantic hands, which were sheltering and supporting me. I can't fully describe it in words, but that intense feeling of God's love for me in that vision has remained entrenched in my heart, my soul and my mind ever since.


Philippians 3: 7-11

7 But whatever was to my profit I now consider loss for the sake of Christ.
8 What is more, I consider everything a loss compared to the surpassing greatness of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them rubbish, that I may gain Christ
9 And be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God and is by faith.
10 I want to know Christ and the power of his resurrection and the fellowship of sharing in his sufferings, becoming like him in his death,
11 And so, somehow, to attain to the resurrection from the dead.