Above the Waves - Trust: KL State Boys' Brigade

By Corporal Brendan Eu Che-Jie of 12^th Kuala Lumpur Company

October 25th, 2014

Everyone has had their fair share of trials and they seem to come sometimes and go, just like waves – one right after the other. But like the seagulls, God means for us to soar above the raging torrent below, so that our feet do not even get wet - to trust Him. You've heard this promise, I'm sure:

"No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it," - 1 Corinthians 10:13.

Christians have often quoted this verse believing that God would still the waves of their trial as He did when Jesus stilled the Sea of Galilee. Or they have hoped that God would at least get them off the beach before the next wave. But God doesn't want to just still the waves or get us off the beach – He wants us to soar above and in spite of the waves!

God's "way of escape" doesn't always mean He will rearrange the circumstances to fit what we desire. In fact, God's way out will most often takes the form of trusting in Him no matter what happens. Let me share a story.

Recently I was away from home attending a two-week class intensive. During lunch break on one of our first days, I broke a tooth while eating beans and rice. I'd been having trouble with that tooth for a long time, and had been babying it this far. I was hoping it would hold for a long while yet. It didn't. I called my dentist, and though they had been totally booked up, someone had just cancelled for 5pm the next day. Perfect! I wouldn't have to miss an entire day of class; only a couple hours!

The interesting part of the story is these were "waves" that God could easily still. But He uses circumstances to teach us about trust – about teaching us to soar above the waves.

Of course, back to ourselves, we will definitely confront all these so called "waves" in our lives. The complications won't go the way we want to be, and we would feel frustrated and devastated. But we would still have to acknowledge God because He is in control and there watching us no matter what. I knew that no matter what happened, I was still in God's hands. For God will never choose to leave us and let us face our trials alone. He would be there to guide us as well as to strengthen us in our journey just to ensure that we could safely reach our destinations.

There is once that I insisted on quitting Boys' Brigade, but things didn't turn out like I want to. My mother forced me to stay on, and obviously I wasn't pleased with it. I found that Boys' Brigade was hectic and tiring. I undergo torture that could even tear myself apart, and even times that I wanted to just shout right in my parent's face about how bad Boys' Brigade is. But even so, I could feel that everything was under control. I just wanted things to work out the way I wanted them to!

Perhaps that's where the stress lies for us. I wanted everything to work like clockwork. But God wanted me to trust Him even when things didn't work out the way I expected. I could feel God speaking to me in one occasion. My father came to me some day and told me that it is a privilege to be a Brigadier. I was curious, so I asked him why. He said that being in the Boys' Brigade, then he told me that serving as a Brigadier is part of ministry works. Suddenly, a sense of realization struck me and I could hear a voice asking me to stay in Boys' Brigade. Thinking of being in Boys' Brigade, I could learn things that I could not learn anywhere else. God's way of escape was to trust Him and stay dry!
Always build trust in God and place full confidence in him for anything you do. But you may ask how do we build trust in God? It is through seeing God care for us even when bad things happen.

Through choosing to let Him be in control and stop insisting that things happen like we want them to. This is our way of escape, our way to soar above the waves.

So, we are given the freedom to choose; to believe in or to not. How about you? What are some situations in which you have learned to trust God? It's all up to you.

Page Created: 7th December 2014

Last Updated: 7th December 2014