“I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord.” – Psalm 27:13

About 10 years ago, the Lord led me to reside in a town in the United States where guns and drugs ruled some of these streets. A group of young people from my church wanted to make a difference by organising a block party for residents in that neighbourhood again. That would involve closing the road and setting up food and game stalls for the better part of the day. I decided to join them in their efforts.

As the church staff in charge of that project, I was tasked with obtaining the relevant permit. But I hit a snag. Besides getting the permission of all relevant authorities in that town, I had to obtain the signatures of 5 residents along that street. It was a new process as we did not need to do this the previous time we had a party at the same location. It was a cumbersome, and potentially dangerous, process.

We decided to go ahead and collect the required signatures. I recall the first man we met dressed in a thick sweater on a hot summer day at noontime. I realised that he was probably high on drugs as he was shivering in the heat. There was a sense of trepidation as my church friend and I knocked on several doors, not expecting what would happen next. By the grace of God, we obtained the necessary signatures and the block party proceeded smoothly with no gun or drug incident. We even had a prayer station for the first time on that street!

Such is the goodness of God, that I believe He provided all that we needed for the block party and protected me in the process of applying for the necessary permits. Just as King David wrote in Psalm 27:13 that “… I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord …” (ESV), I pray that you may always likewise look to the Lord.

I had the privilege of serving with SCGM as a board member and in various initiatives, such as the GoForth National Missions Conference. The process of engaging with other people and mission organisations was enlightening, opening up doors for partnerships and perspectives I have not known. I believe in synergy, that when we come together as a community of faith, we are able to achieve (with the help of the Lord) more than we can ever ask or imagine.

Since that journey about 10 years ago, I have had my fair share of ups and downs in my spiritual journey. But through it all, I have learnt to continue to trust in the goodness of God. My prayer is that you may likewise press on in faith, and trust in the Lord whatever your circumstances may be.