Knowing the seasons of your life

Many of you knew that I had a wonderful opportunity to go away on a personal retreat. After being in TOUCH for a year plus, I realized that all staff are strongly encouraged to take a long leave to go on a personal retreat. I thought about it and planned it months ago. I recognized that if I haven’t quite sat down to take stock of many things in life (work, relationship & ministry). Going back to the basics, it boils down to my walk with God.

The preparation to the retreat was a rush in itself. Thank God for my dear brother Teo who arranged for it for me. As I was doing my last minute packing on the morning leaving for Tg Pinang, I chanced upon this book, God’s Timing for Your Life. The teachings were not new to most of us who have heard from pastors but it was a revisit to our application of our learning. It took me a while to adjust to the ‘sudden reduced pace’ of life at the kelong. As I spent time reading, reflecting and journaling, it was such great pleasure to learn again. I realized sometimes in my work, the process of learning stopped.

The author Dutch Sheets introduced 3 points in recognizing God’s timing in our lives. Firstly, it is Chronos, the long, persevering periods of our lives whereby we go through the training program from God. In His great divine plan, He intended to develop us and train us. These periods can be trying and long yet they led us into the time of great opportunity when God finally calls us. A Chinese saying goes like this, “Training an army for a thousand days but use them for the critical moment.” What is needed during the Chronos period is patience and sensitivity to know the Holy Spirit’s leadership.

Secondly, it is Kairos. I believe most of us are familiar with this term. It is the time of great opportunity. The moment when something great is ABOUT to happen but not yet. A time when God calls. A time when life can be stormy and challenging as God stirs us out of comfort. A time when you can feel very vulnerable but when you choose to obey, victory is just around the corner. During the Kairos time, it calls for obedience in the midst of storm else we can miss His time.

Kairos is not the completion of His purpose therefore the third point I am sharing with us is Pleroo. This is the completion of what God has intended in our lives. The sweetness of victory as a result of our tears and pains in sowing and ploughing, is beyond description.

In many circumstances, we can witness these 3 processes. Previously as a sportsman in competitive sports, I saw myself through long, tiring seasons of training. There are days of high and low (Chronos). The competition itself was the great and probably only opportunity to prove your training works. Everything in training appeared critical at this point. Emotions were stirred (fear, anxiety, rush of adrenaline) – Kairos. Sweet victory(Pleroo) may come but there are also times defeat sets in where I know some things weren’t done right.

As I reflected on this and evaluated my life so far, I told the Lord that I won’t want to miss His Kairos again. I want to recognize His long seasons of training for me, His great moment of opportunity for me to rise up and enjoy His victory over my life. I need to walk close to hear His heartbeat.

Application: I see that this season of Christmas@Orchard may be a Kairos for many of us. Many of our previous training could be needed for this critical time. This can be a time of great vulnerability and discomfort. It calls for obedience to do what the Lord says even in stretching yourselves. Don’t miss what the Lord is doing. Victory may be just around the corner for you. “If we always do what we always do, we will have what we always have.”

For those who like to find out more about this holiday site I went, feel free to call me up.


Amos Ng