“Ideas can be life-changing. Sometimes all you need to open the door is just one more idea– Jim Rohn
So often we are confronted or bombarded with many suggestions, how do we know that these are God’s ideas and not just good ideas?Just a case in view. I received a distress call from Australia from a Malaysian who immigrated quite some time ago. He was an owner of a restaurant here in Malaysia and was doing quite well. Let us call him James (not his real name). One day someone suggested that James should consider immigrating to Australia for greener pastures. When he landed in Australia, he bought over a restaurant business with his life savings. The purchase eventually caused many sleepless nights. The restaurant business was not making profit. On top of that, he was cheated by the former owner over the price of purchase. As if that was not enough, he also owed the Aussie government a substantial amount of tax returns which he could not pay. His son was due to go to college and he could not send him because of lack of funds. Obviously James regretted his move to Australia but was a bit too late.
Good idea vs God’s idea
I remember clearly in 1989, I met a wonderful Christian brother who owned an Immigration Business that helped Malaysians to immigrate to Canada. He suggested that I put in my papers. The administration fees would cost RM10000 but he would waive it for me since I am a servant of God. With great excitement knowing this must be God, I proceeded with all the paper work. Shortly after that, the late Dr DGS Dhinakaran was in town and I happened to meet him. Before I left, the man of God laid his hand and prophesied many things. Half way through the prophecy, God said, “Your headquarter is in Malaysia…” and with that my immigration plan to Canada went out the window!
Ishmael
Genesis 16 : 1-2
1Now Sarai, Abram’s wife, had borne him no children. And she had an Egyptian maidservant whose name was Hagar.
2 So Sarai said to Abram, “See now, the Lord has restrained me from bearing children. Please, go in to my maid; perhaps I shall obtain children by her.” And Abram heeded the voice of Sarai.
Abram and Sarai were waiting for God’s promise for a child. This couple had waited for 10 years and still there was no sign of fulfilment. So Sarai decided to help God. and suggested that Abram took Hagar the maid to be his wife for the purpose of being a surrogate mother. In the culture of those days, a married man was allowed to take another wife should the first wife be unable to bear children. Sarai’s brilliant idea seemed good to Abram and Ishmael was born. However, that ‘good idea’ soon backfired! God had intended Isaac to be the heir and not Ishmael. Finally, God dealt with them and their names were changed to Abraham and Sarah respectively. God visited the barren Sarah in Genesis 21 and Isaac was born in her post menopause stage at 90 years of age.
Listening to GOD.
Most of us struggle with good ideas many times. That is the core reason why we should download and hear from God. We also need to receive and embrace the proven Prophetic Ministers who can help us to discern and confirm God’s Ideas for our lives. I have a wonderful friend called Derwin Philip who worked as a Senior flight attendant with Malaysia Airlines for the past 18 years. Here is his story:
Saved From Airline Tragedies
(By Pr. Derwin Philip)
I joined MAS in 1995 and had been with the airline for 18 years. In my last position with MAS, I was a senior crew. By the year 2013, 90% of my batch-mates had resigned. 200 of the senior crew were actually selected to operate the Boeing 777 & 747 aircraft for the purpose of maintaining high standards in flight services. I was one of the selected crew. Since the Boeing 747 was an old aircraft, we hardly had any flights on them so we operated mostly on all 777 routes. The Beijing and Amsterdam routes were common routes that I operated in, every month. Having worked 18 years with MAS, I was comfortable in my job and was used to the routines of flying. However, in the first week of October in 2013, as I was ministering on a Sunday morning at my church Jesus My Rock, I sensed such a strong presence and peace of God within me. I was talking about being obedient to God. As I preached I could audibly hear a voice within me saying, “it is time to go full-time, this is your time”. I had always wanted to go full-time but was waiting on God for the right timing. But the voice inside me kept saying it was now. So I boldly announced to my church members and my family, who were also present, that I was leaving MAS and that I would resign in the next 24 hours. It came as quite a shock but everything seemed to fall into place.
MH370 Tragedy
The very next day I walked into MAS Human Resources division and tendered in my resignation letter. And that was the last of my 18 years with them. Exactly 5 months after I left the company, the nation was rocked with the news that a MAS Boeing 777, specifically MH370 en-route to Beijing had gone missing, and is still missing till today. 2 of the senior cabin crew on the flight were my batch mates, our staff numbers being almost the same. The rostering system would have automatically been capturing the senior crew numbers for the flight and since there were only a handful of us left, the possibility of me being on that flight was extremely high had I not resigned a few months before that. God had saved me.
Ill-fated MH17
Exactly 9 months from the date I resigned, another incident took place – which would later go down in history as one of the worst air-tragedies. This was the downing of a MAS Boeing 777 aircraft namely, the MH17 en-route to KL from Amsterdam. This plane was shot down over a war torn area in Ukraine killing everyone on board. While I served in the Ministry and worked with MAS, I had always requested for exchanged flights so that I would be on the ones that operated from Mondays to Fridays. The purpose was to ensure my Sundays could be spent in the house of the Lord. I am almost certain that had I not been rostered for MH17, I would have gotten an exchange from other crew to be on that ill-fated flight. The reason being that the Saturday after the flight was to touch down, i.e. July 18th, was our Parent’s Day celebration at church, this would mean I would have certainly been on that Amsterdam flight since it was a flight that set-off on Monday and was to return on Friday. Again, God saved me.
It just amazes me how God protected me from a double tragedy and I believe it was because I decided to be obedient to HIS voice. He has called me for a bigger purpose and it is indeed my time to fulfill it. Praise be to God!!
Scholarship
When I was in Secondary school, I had a good friend who was a godly Christian teenager. He was instrumental in bring me to Jesus Christ. My friend lost his father at a young age. When he was accepted by University Malaya to do an Engineering course for 4 years, he was offered 2 scholarships by 2 different companies, let us call them A and B. Company A seemed very promising and naturally my friend was gravitated towards it. However, he decided to seek God if this was according to His will. As he sought God, the Holy Spirit prompted his heart to accept Company B. Though he did not understand, he obeyed the leading of God. Two years later, Company A went bankrupt. How important it is once again to know God’s will and God’s ideas rather than simply rely on our own ‘good ideas’.
DGS Dhinakaran’s call
The late Dr DGS Dhinakaran was sharing how Jesus had asked him to enter the full-time ministry to serve Him. Dr Dhinakaran was holding a very high position in the State Bank of India. Dr Dhinakaran highlighted to Jesus that many servants of God in India were living in financial lack and shame and he was not prepared to join them. Jesus replied and said to him that He did not call these so-called ‘servants of God’ into full-time ministry but they went themselves. God will only pay for what He orders. Out of their zeal, they simply quit their jobs without hearing from God and live shameful lives of asking others for financial help. It may be a good idea and even honourable to go into full-time ministry and serve God but alas it was not God’s will for them!
Apostle Paul was in a tent making business to finance his travelling ministry without asking others for financial aid. Each of us need to discern and know God’s will and God’s timing with regards to quitting jobs, change of location, change of church, finding life partner, entering a business venture, purchasing a real estate property and other important decisions in life.
Good idea and not God’s idea can land us in hot soup. – Pr Paul Ang