Eld Lee Kong Sing

“For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” Romans 11:34

The Apostle Paul penned these words after his great thesis on God’s great plan of salvation for mankind. Paul marvels at the wisdom and knowledge of God. God’s sovereign plan of salvation is unsearchable and past finding out by man. Who can know God’s mind? Who can be His counsellor? God does not need man’s help to devise the deliverance of mankind from sin and condemnation. God has planned it before the foundation of the world and His plan is perfect and all wise.

The Covid-19 pandemic has taught me many precious spiritual lessons; chief among which is the lesson of faith. As I observed how God worked in preserving CPBPC during the pandemic, I marvel at the sovereign power, wisdom and mercy of God. Truly, who can know the mind of God or who can be His counsellor?

At the start of the pandemic, the government began to introduce safety measures to restrict worship of all religious organisations. Although the response by the government was timely, the guidelines were, however, not yet as clear. It was understandable given the unprecedented nature of the COVID-19 pandemic. During this period, CPBPC leaders were inundated with advice and concerns from members. Is the church going to take temperature or install thermal scanners? Will the church make announcements to advise the sick to stay home? Is the church going to make wearing of mask mandatory? How is the church going to protect the safety of members?  At the same time, church leaders were also debating what to do. What was or was not required by the government? Were we doing enough? Were we overdoing? Did we have faith? Did we fulfill human responsibility sufficiently? It was a time of flux, confusion, and uncertainty. Charting a clear direction was a struggle then.

However, before many of these questions had to be confronted, the Lord in His mercy delivered us. When the circuit breaker kicked in, the need to implement measures was no longer needed. We did not need to decide, it was decided for us. The church was to suspend gathering physically with immediate effect. The next question, however, became: “How do we continue to minister to God’s people within the constraints?” Before this, online worship was completely foreign and inconceivable to us. As compared to live worship, online worship seems unreal, cold and even soul-less. Early responses to this idea ranged from reluctance, resistance to even repulsion. It was not an easy hurdle to overcome for both the congregation as well as church leaders.  But it was clear that that was the option God had given us. We had to quickly do what we could to make it work.

Six months have since passed. Despite the reservations at first and the lack of in-house technical expertise to implement it, I marvel at the fact that we have been worshipping the Lord every Sunday without a single day of disruption. God’s provision of the means to continue to worship Him was most unexpected and even contrary to man’s thinking and preferences but it was nonetheless God’s perfect plan. Does God need man’s counsel? Does God need to ask us what we prefer?  Certainly not. The Lord in His wisdom provided the means for us to worship Him and to be fed by His Word.

The next question that followed was how we could continue to minister to God’s people through the ministries such as fellowship groups. Face-to-face meetings were fundamental for many of these ministries. The leaders were unsure how to proceed and most came to a halt. How could we continue to provide an environment of feeding of God’s Word and mutual provocation unto love and good works without seeing one another in person? It was unimaginable. However, it did not take long before groups one-by-one started to adapt the format of meetings to run on online video conferencing platforms such as Zoom.  Lessons learnt by those who paved the way were quickly shared and in a short space of time, many other groups started functioning again. Not like before, no doubt. The quality of activities was and continues to be in reduced mode. But there has been no lack of testimonies of God’s goodness, provision, and blessings. Not quite what we expected or even imagined, but God continued to faithfully enable and sustain without significant cessation. Fellowshipping online seems a contradiction of terms to the human mind, but it is nonetheless God’s merciful provision which we should gratefully accept as good.  

The climax in terms of complexity and difficulty of implementation was the church ACM. If one knew of the behind-the-scenes work necessary, one cannot help but marvel at how the Lord has helped us. An online ACM was never done before in the history of CPBPC. By God’s faithful provision, enabling and wisdom, the ACM was conducted smoothly and with an unprecedented quorum turnout. The limitations cannot stop the fulfilment of His perfect will. God again showed us how great He is and how merciful He is to CPBPC.  

If one were to view CPBPC like any other secular organisation, the natural man will quickly conclude that we were not ready to confront a crisis such as the COVID-19 pandemic. That would be true if CPBPC did not have an almighty and sovereign heavenly Helper.  Man’s limitations, weaknesses, and even failures could not prevent God’s faithfulness and power to provide for the needs of His church. It has been a long six months since the church has not been allowed to gather like before. Yet, our spiritual needs have been and continue to be met each step of the way. Through this crisis, the mighty hand of God was revealed. No global pandemic could shorten or hinder it. As I observe God’s hand, I am humbled and my faith is encouraged. God does not need man’s help or counsel to carry out His plan of mercy and provision for CPBPC. In fact, we in our weakness often end up hindering rather than help God. It is God who has preserved CPBPC. Our confidence should never lie in man but always in God and God alone. We must continue to serve Him faithfully as a church and to persevere in prayer for His continued mercies and blessings upon CPBPC. If God’s mercy toward us endures, we have nothing to fear.