Believing in things unseen

https://odb.org/2025/12/04/believing-more-than-we-see

Hebrews 11:1–4 (NIV): 11 Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see. 2 This is what the ancients were commended for.
3 By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command, so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible.
4 By faith Abel brought God a better offering than Cain did. By faith he was commended as righteous, when God spoke well of his offerings. And by faith Abel still speaks, even though he is dead.

In the late nineteenth century, few people had access to the great sequoia groves, and many didn’t believe the reports of the massive trees. In 1892, however, four lumberjacks ventured into the Big Stump Forest in California and spent thirteen days felling Mark Twain. Twain was 1,341 years old, three hundred feet tall, and fifty feet in circumference. They shipped part of this remarkable beauty to the American Museum of Natural History, where everyone could see a sequoia.

The reality, though, is that we can’t prove every truth with our eyes alone. Hebrews describes faith as “confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see” (Hebrews 11:1). Faith isn’t irrational or a fit of fancy, because the whole story is grounded in a person—Jesus—who has entered human history. Faith includes human senses and reason, but it’s not limited to them. Faith requires more. “By faith we understand that the universe was formed at God’s command,” Hebrews says, “so that what is seen was not made out of what was visible” (v. 3). (Winn Collier, Our Daily Bread, 4th December 2025).

Faith is to believe in things unseen and yet it is not irrational, in the sense that it is still grounded on facts and logic. That is why faith also requires the use of the mind to understand the tenets of the faith. That is also why many spent years just studying the various aspects of our faith, especially the Word of God and Jesus Christ as the Word and Christ form the foundation of our faith. Paul uses the phrase that we may increase in the knowledge of our Lord Jesus Christ because the more we know Him and of Him, the more mature we become in our spiritual life.

Thus as much as we believe in miracles and faith healing, we still abide by our doctor’s instructions. The latter may not have the perfect cure but it is backed by years of knowledge pioneered by those in medical research. Yet God can still heal in the midst of treatment. It is wrong to say that if we take the medical route that we do not have faith for God to heal us. For example, while Covid vaccines had not gone through vigorous testings and thus may lead to unknown consequences, they were still necessary to save millions of lives as medical infrastructure was not able to cope when thousands and thousands require respitory assistance. Without vaccines, Covid patients die within days when the virus attacked their lungs and incapacitated their natural ability to breathe.

Our faith is based on the LORD God that we can’t see. Our Saviour who was God incarnate, the Immanuel, walked the earth 2,000 years ago and there are infinitely more who believed in Him who did not see Him in the flesh compared to those who did. Yet millions over the ages gave their lives and many died and sacrificed their lives for His name’s sake.

We are who we are in the faith because we believe in the hope that Christ will return one day in full glory and power (it should be soon) and we will have life eternal in the new heaven and new earth, where God will once again dwell amongst His people but in tangible form. One day, not now, the things unseen will be seen. Until then, it requires faith to believe and hope.

Growth through pain

https://odb.org/2025/12/03/growth-through-pain

Psalm 119:65–72 (NIV): 65 Do good to your servant according to your word, LORD.
66 Teach me knowledge and good judgment, for I trust your commands.
67 Before I was afflicted I went astray, but now I obey your word. 68 You are good, and what you do is good; teach me your decrees. 69 Though the arrogant have smeared me with lies, I keep your precepts with all my heart. 70 Their hearts are callous and unfeeling, but I delight in your law. 71 It was good for me to be afflicted so that I might learn your decrees. 72 The law from your mouth is more precious to me than thousands of pieces of silver and gold.

The brain is remarkably small, but stress can make it even smaller. Recent research has revealed that cumulative stress can shrink the prefrontal cortex, the part of the brain responsible for managing emotions, impulses, and social interactions. This shrinkage is linked to anxiety and depression, highlighting the toll that a lifetime of stress can take. But there’s good news—the brain’s plasticity allows it to heal through intentional practices like exercise, meditation, and meaningful relationships.

Like our brains, our spirits are capable of being stretched. God uses this stretching to cause growth and renewal. Through Scripture, prayer, and a Spirit-inspired perspective, He can reverse the effects of our hardships. He can use our afflictions for our spiritual growth, transforming pain into purpose. (Marvin Williams, Our Daily Bread, 3rd December 2025)

While in the natural stress may be harmful to the brain in the long run, stress also induces growth in our intellectual abilities in the sense that more of our brain’s capacity is utilised. Thus, as we study and work hard, we get better at the things we do. That is why for a young graduate, we always emphasise exposure is more crucial compared to monetary returns. It is much better to earn lesser a bit doing more, than earning more doing nothing much. Even at the end of our working life, the debate is whether to continue working or retire completely and do nothing as sone say idleness may well shorten our life. Perhaps people without a sense of purpose drift away and die younger.

But in the spiritual realm, the principle is clear. The more we go through for God and Christ, the more we will grow in our faith, our knowledge of Jesus Christ and in our spiritual maturity. This is because suffering produces perseverance and perseverance produces character and character produces hope as per Romans 5:3-5. We should follow the LORD’s exaltation for Joshua – “be strong and courageous for I am with you wherever you go.” Face life courageously with a strong faith despite the struggles and the hardships. Look at the unseen things in life as that is faith, for the seen is temporal while the unseen is eternal.

Have a great day ahead today! Remember, it is through the hardships in life as we face them courageously with faith grounded in Christ that we will grow spiritually and fulfil God’s plans and purposes for our lives. Take care, everyone and God bless us all in all that we do!

A gentle answer

https://odb.org/2025/12/02/positive-graffiti

Proverbs 15:1–4 (NIV): A gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. 2 The tongue of the wise adorns knowledge, but the mouth of the fool gushes folly. 3 The eyes of the Lord are everywhere, keeping watch on the wicked and the good. 4 The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit.

As a young man, journalist Sebastian Junger traveled the United States and wrote about it. One day in the 1980s, he entered a restroom in the Florida Keys and found hateful graffiti scrawled on the walls. Most of it targeted Cuban immigrants. But one message, apparently from a Cuban, stood out. It read, “Thank God the rest of the people in this country are warm and caring and welcomed me in ’62.” Junger observed, “The very worst things about America were on that men’s-room wall, and the very best.” (Tim Gustafson, Our Daily Bread 2 December 2025)

As a believer, the words that come from us whether verbally or in writing, in person or from the pulpit, should be comforting and encouraging. As Proverbs advises in 15:1 – a gentle answer turns away wrath, but a harsh word stirs up anger. I guess there are times when we are unable to avoid harsh words, maybe because we were overcome by emotions or anger. But as part of our Christian character development, we should always aim to be calm and steady even when provoked, Jesus being the perfect example of calmness.

The strange and ironical thing is that our harsher words are usually directed to those closest to us like our spouse, children and siblings. That’s tragic because they are the ones we love the most and more importantly, who love us the most. It’s a pattern we need to break if that’s the norm. Exercise restraint whether at home or outside. Be patient. Usually the difficult moment will pass and things will settle down. Refrain from the temptation to inflict harm as harsh words can cause long-term ramifications and people seldom forget such words. Even words uttered in jest but are insensitive will be remembered for a long time with lasting damage. Proverbs 15:4 – The soothing tongue is a tree of life, but a perverse tongue crushes the spirit. Surely as fellow believers, we do not want to crush the spirit of a another believer, especially a young one.

Allow the Lord to work in our lives to soften our hearts to listen and obey His voice and ask Him to help us exercise restraint and patience in our choice of words even when we ourselves are confronted by harsh words.

Don’t do this alone

https://odb.org/2025/12/01/dont-do-this-alone

Romans 12:3–8 (NIV): 3 For by the grace given me I say to every one of you: Do not think of yourself more highly than you ought, but rather think of yourself with sober judgment, in accordance with the faith God has distributed to each of you. 4 For just as each of us has one body with many members, and these members do not all have the same function, 5 so in Christ we, though many, form one body, and each member belongs to all the others. 6 We have different gifts, according to the grace given to each of us. If your gift is prophesying, then prophesy in accordance with your faith; 7 if it is serving, then serve; if it is teaching, then teach; 8 if it is to encourage, then give encouragement; if it is giving, then give generously; if it is to lead, do it diligently; if it is to show mercy, do it cheerfully.

As I opened the bookshelf assembly instructions, I viewed a set of instructional diagrams of what to do and what not to do. One diagram—with a large X on top—depicted a person staring at a pile of boards and tools with a bemused frown not unlike mine just a few minutes prior. On the right side was drawn the “correct” way to assemble. The only difference? A second person was there. Both figures now had smiles on their faces as they worked together. So I got my husband. “The instructions say I need your help,” I said, showing him the drawing. He laughed, and we assembled it together. I could have stubbornly tried to find a way to put it together on my own. But the manual was right; the process wasn’t meant to be done alone. (Monica La Rose, Our Daily Bread, 1 December 2025)

While there are things that may be attempted alone, there are matters that should be undertaken by more than one person. In fact, assembling furniture usually require two persons. For example, in counselling, it is better to counsel someone from the opposite gender as a couple to avoid possible emotional attachments. The reason is that people are at their most vulnerable when going through emotional turmoil and thus most susceptible to developing new relationships.

In the Kingdom of God, ministry is almost always collective as each of us have our part or role to play. Each of us has a different gift, according to the grace given to us. We are all unique and thus, we are to complement one another. We are not in competition as we serve God in accordance with our own God-given abilities, gifts and talents. As per the Parable of the Talents, we just need to act upon the talent given to us and not hide it away somewhere. Use it for the betterment and expansion of the Kingdom of God that more will repent from their sins and give their lives to God.

Our responsibility and obligation is to do our part and for some of us, that could be to provide leadership and lead. Some may be to mentor or make disciples. Or others, like what my wife and I have been doing in our Young Adults group, is to guide aspiring young believing adults to adapt and thrive in the workforce while growing spiritually. After all, we have been in the working world for more than 30 years, in management and various capacities. Just do our part as God calls us for the season but always remember that in ministry, two is always better than one!

Have a good week ahead, everyone! Let’s do our part for the Kingdom of God even as we do our job to earn a living for our family, to pay the bills and put food on the table and most importantly, to carve out a better future for our children in the world and the Kingdom of God! Amen!

The lost city and the hidden treasure

https://odb.org/2025/11/28/what-city-are-you-seeking

Philippians 3:3–9 (NIV): 3 For it is we who are the circumcision, we who serve God by his Spirit, who boast in Christ Jesus, and who put no confidence in the flesh—4 though I myself have reasons for such confidence. If someone else thinks they have reasons to put confidence in the flesh, I have more: 5 circumcised on the eighth day, of the people of Israel, of the tribe of Benjamin, a Hebrew of Hebrews; in regard to the law, a Pharisee; 6 as for zeal, persecuting the church; as for righteousness based on the law, faultless.
7 But whatever were gains to me I now consider loss for the sake of Christ. 8 What is more, I consider everything a loss because of the surpassing worth of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whose sake I have lost all things. I consider them garbage, that I may gain Christ 9 and be found in him, not having a righteousness of my own that comes from the law, but that which is through faith in Christ—the righteousness that comes from God on the basis of faith.

On May 29, 1925, Percy Fawcett sent a final letter to his wife before he ventured deeper into the unmapped jungles of Brazil. He was seeking a fabled lost city of great splendor. But his team of explorers got lost, the city was never found, and many expeditions failed to recover either. Percy’s courage and passion, while admirable, was squandered on a lost city that could never be reached. But there is a real treasure for each person that’s worth seeking with all of our heart, mind, and strength. (Karen Pimpo, Our Daily Bread 28th November 2025)

A lost city or a seemingly unreachable or an unrealised dream. If we have spent our entire lives chasing after that elusive dream, perhaps it is time to pause and consider the greatest treasure mankind can ever find? A treasure so great that a man sold everything he had to take possession of it. “The kingdom of heaven is like a treasure hidden in a field, which a man found and, in his joy, went and sold all he had and bought that field” (Matthew 13:44). It is attainable through faith in Christ Jesus. It is well worth above anything else in this world. It is the hope and promise of eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord. It is by the grace of God and a great honour to accept for “many are called, but few are chosen” (Matthew 22:14).

Are we still searching for that lost city, that hidden treasure, that big break to propel us into the limelight, that big song to launch our career in showbiz? Or more down to earth, that promotion to bring us into senior management, that big sale to earn us a few years’ of income or that severance package for our years of faithful service? Actually it is not wrong to aim high or to keep on trying but it’s just that we shouldn’t miss the forest for the trees. The big picture is that our soul lives on forever even though our body will die and perish. Thus, is our spiritual life and salvation secured? Don’t miss the boat while it is still at port. Once it sails, it will sail into eternity! That is why the man quickly sold all he had and bought the field in Matthew 13:44!

Have a good weekend ahead even as November draws to close and we herald in December and the Christmas season! Have a good and personal time dwelling in the presence of our Lord even as we worship God in spirit and in truth in church this Sunday! Hallelujah, praise the Lord!

Blessed Thanksgiving

https://odb.org/2025/11/27/a-humble-thanksgiving

Proverbs 22:1,6 (NIV): A good name is more desirable than great riches; to be esteemed is better than silver or gold. 6 Start children off on the way they should go and even when thet are old they will not turn away from it.

One Thanksgiving I called home to greet my parents. As we talked, I asked my mom what she was most grateful for. She exclaimed that she was most grateful that “all three of my children know how to call on the name of the Lord.” For my mother, who’d always emphasized the importance of education, there was something more valuable than her children doing well in school and taking care of themselves. (Katara Patton, Our Daily Bread 27th November 2025)

In a way, Thanksgiving is a celebration or festival that’s quite unique to the North American culture, that is much rooted in being grateful to God for giving them a good harvest. It has now become a more secular holiday celebrated as a cultural tradition around one month before Christmas. As a harvest festival, it is however not unique as various cultures across the globe celebrate harvests like the Chinese mid-autumn festival (moon cakes) or the Gawai of the Borneo Dayaks.

Although we Malaysians do not celebrate Thanksgiving like the North Americans, the concept of being grateful and thankful to the Lord is something we must cultivate, whether as part of our daily routine or every Sunday as we worship Him in church. We must be thankful for His calling upon our lives to be sons and daughters of God. While many are called, few are chosen, in the sense, not many actually respond to God’s call of salvation. There are several who responded but as the trappings of the world creep in and faced with the pressures of living, they have sadly fallen by the wayside and “forgotten” God. That is why Paul exhorts us in Romans 12:2 not to be conformed to the pattern of this world but be transformed by the renewing of our minds that we may test and prove the good, pleasing and perfect will of God. Jesus Himself taught of the good soil versus the rocky soil.

As parents, our greatest joy and satisfaction in life is to see our children thrive in the midst of the challenges in the world but most importantly, knowing how to call upon the name of the Lord. It’s the greatest gift given to mankind, the gift of salvation and eternal life that one day we may all live in the new heaven and new earth with God as He dwells amongst His people.

Happy and blessed Thanksgiving to those who are celebrating in the US and Canada! Have a good celebration with family and friends as we usher in the Christmas season! Soon 2026 will dawn upon us and we will in the course of the new year be one year older! 😊

My prayer for all of us – “May the Lord our God bless us and keep us; may the Lord make His face shine upon us and be gracious to us; may the Lord lift up His countenance upon us and give us peace”.

Count your blessings

https://odb.org/2025/11/26/count-your-blessings

Ezra 3:9–11 (NIV): 9 Joshua and his sons and brothers and Kadmiel and his sons (descendants of Hodaviah) and the sons of Henadad and their sons and brothers—all Levites—joined together in supervising those working on the house of God.
10 When the builders laid the foundation of the temple of the LORD, the priests in their vestments and with trumpets, and the Levites (the sons of Asaph) with cymbals, took their places to praise the LORD, as prescribed by David king of Israel. 11 With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the LORD: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the LORD, because the foundation of the house of the LORD was laid.

When I was a little girl, I loved the old hymn “Count Your Blessings.” The song encourages those who are “tempest-tossed” and “thinking all is lost” to “count your blessings, name them one by one.” Years later when my husband, Alan, was discouraged, he would often ask me to sing that simple song to him. Then I would help him to enumerate his blessings. Doing so took Alan’s focus off his struggles and self-doubt and centered his thoughts on God and his reasons for thankfulness. (Alison Kieda, Our Daily Bread, 26th November 2025)

I feel we should all count our blessings every now and then, not just when facing difficult times, but on ordinary days as we go about our daily routines. We have a house to live in, a roof over our heads and food on the table. Or in the case of Malaysians, a short walk downstairs or outside or in more cases, a short drive away, there are abundance of cafes, hawker centres or restaurants offering delicious delicacies. Every time I watch a documentary on the homeless, most of who lived normal lives like us until some tragedy struck causing them to lose their jobs and can’t pay rent, I am thankful for the roof over my head.

Yes, there are tough times, we have health issues (sometimes self-induced) and some of us have to live within our meagre means. Yet we are not out wandering the streets searching for our next meal. If we are out of a job, we still have family support. If we are laid off because our employer is right-sizing, at least there is some compensation to tide us over. That is why many now advocate having a dual income stream in case we lose our main source of income. We count our blessings, especially when we are going through down times, knowing in our hearts that God will deliver and save us from our down times.

The worst thing we could do when faced with tough times is to wallow in self pity and spiral down into a web of self-fulfilling depression. Instead count our blessings and look to the Lord, the alpha and omega, the author and finisher of our faith. Do not allow the devil to deceive us to think we are failures. We may have had our failures but we are not a failure in the eyes of Christ. We are sons and daughters of the most High Almighty God, the creator of the universe and all things in it. Yahweh, the God of Abraham, Isaac and Jacob and the Bible, is our God too! We can and shall overcome! Count our blessings and know that He is good, all the time! Amen

Asking God

https://odb.org/2025/11/25/asking-gods-help

1 Samuel 7:7–12 (NIV): 7 When the Philistines heard that Israel had assembled at Mizpah, the rulers of the Philistines came up to attack them. When the Israelites heard of it, they were afraid because of the Philistines. 8 They said to Samuel, “Do not stop crying out to the LORD our God for us, that he may rescue us from the hand of the Philistines.” 9 Then Samuel took a suckling lamb and sacrificed it as a whole burnt offering to the LORD. He cried out to the LORD on Israel’s behalf, and the LORD answered him.
10 While Samuel was sacrificing the burnt offering, the Philistines drew near to engage Israel in battle. But that day the LORD thundered with loud thunder against the Philistines and threw them into such a panic that they were routed before the Israelites. 11 The men of Israel rushed out of Mizpah and pursued the Philistines, slaughtering them along the way to a point below Beth Kar.
12 Then Samuel took a stone and set it up between Mizpah and Shen. He named it Ebenezer, saying, “Thus far the LORD has helped us.”

When I was younger, I thought it improper to ask God to help me meet writing deadlines. Other people have greater needs, I told myself. Family problems. Health crises. Job letdowns. Financial needs. I’ve faced all those things too. But meeting a writing deadline seemed too small to take to God. I changed my view, however, after finding multiple examples in the Bible of God helping people regardless of the challenge they faced. (Patricia Raybon, Our Daily Bread, 25th November 2025)

If you’re a manager, you may face a subordinate who doesn’t ask you anything but just goes on to do things on his own and another who is always asking for help and direction. The latter can be nuisance as over-reliance on you may wear you out instead! But the former may just end up making all the wrong moves and decisions. The goal at the workplace is to have people who are able to work independently and yet keep us updated and coming back to us for bigger decisions. So a lawyer who asks the client or the business unit to confirm every clause in the contract is a pain but one who only picks the crucial clauses for decision is helpful. Which clauses to highlight to the client is thus the skill of the lawyer.

We have a tendency to relate to God in the same way. We tend to think that if we always go back to the Lord, we are a pain to God and as the writer of today’s ODB article pointed out, God has more important needs to deal with than our little problems like, for example, how to reduce glucose in our diet. Of course, there are many more pressing and pertinent needs to deal with in the world. Moreover we are just a speck in the vastness of the universe. Yet, God has an ear to our little and minor issues of life.

The irony of our relationship with God is that He wants us to be completely reliant on Him. In fact, unlike a manager who loves an independent worker, God loves a fully dependent us. He wants us to fully rely on Him – His thoughts, wisdom, guidance and foresight. His plans and purposes for our lives are infinitely better than any of our own man-made fleshly-motivated plans. In fact, the more we speak to Him in prayer, the more we ask Him for our needs, the happier He will be relating to us. His capacity is unlimited.

This morning as we launch out to work or school or start our daily routine, say a prayer and speak to Him in our hearts. The simple issues of life or the heavy issues in our heart – all are good to be committed to the Lord in prayer and supplication, and conversation. It is OK to ask Jesus to help us meet our work deadlines!

Waiting on God

https://odb.org/2025/11/24/hope-in-the-waiting

Jeremiah 25:4–11 (NIV): 4 And though the LORD has sent all his servants the prophets to you again and again, you have not listened or paid any attention. 5 They said, “Turn now, each of you, from your evil ways and your evil practices, and you can stay in the land the LORD gave to you and your ancestors for ever and ever. 6 Do not follow other gods to serve and worship them; do not arouse my anger with what your hands have made. Then I will not harm you.”
7 “But you did not listen to me,” declares the LORD, “and you have aroused my anger with what your hands have made, and you have brought harm to yourselves.”
8 Therefore the LORD Almighty says this: “Because you have not listened to my words, 9 I will summon all the peoples of the north and my servant Nebuchadnezzar king of Babylon,” declares the LORD, “and I will bring them against this land and its inhabitants and against all the surrounding nations. I will completely destroy them and make them an object of horror and scorn, and an everlasting ruin. 10 I will banish from them the sounds of joy and gladness, the voices of bride and bridegroom, the sound of millstones and the light of the lamp. 11 This whole country will become a desolate wasteland, and these nations will serve the king of Babylon seventy years.

Seventy years is a long time to keep hope alive. Jeremiah and the people of Judah must have been heartbroken and fearful when God said they would “serve the king of Babylon seventy years” (Jeremiah 25:11). But they hadn’t listened to God and turned from their “evil ways and . . . practices” (v. 5), which had deformed them into “an object of horror and scorn” (v. 9). The people were condemned more than thirty times in Jeremiah for not listening to Him. Seventy years might have felt like forever, but God would be with them, and He promised that the hard season would eventually end (29:10). (Tom Felten, Our Daily Bread, 24th November 2025)

One of the things we cannot avoid in our Christian life is waiting. Like the children of Israel who waited 70 years to be delivered from their Babylon exile and captivity, there are times when we also need to wait on God to deliver us. The Israelites were delivered into the hands of King Nebuchadnezzar because of theor disobedience. When in exile, they suffered greatly while their homeland laid in ruins and God heard their cries of desperation. After 70 years, they were allowed to return home and rebuild their nation.

The parallel in our modern-day faith is that we could be in bad situations caused by our own neglect of our spiritual walk and as we cry unto the Lord, we hope to be delivered although we know we don’t deserve God’s compassion and love. Yet God loves us. He wants to deliver us. But there is still a question of His timing as He has promised to make all things beautiful in His time.

There are also times when the deliverance or blessing comes in a form that may not be exactly as what we had hoped for. As the saying goes, beggars cannot be choosers. We are in a difficult position. Take whatever that comes our way and work our way out of our situation. For example, if we had been laid off at a salary of RM15,000 a month and are now offered a job paying RM10,000 elsewhere, take it because in a worse case scenario, we could only be earning RM7,000 a month.

Waiting is inevitable in life and in God. Most of the times, besides God’s timing, it is our own character and self. Are we changed from within us? Have we allowed ourselves to be dealt with by the Lord? Are we tranformed? Maybe there is a character trait that we need to change first before God releases His blessings and deliverance.

Have a good week ahead, everyone! This coming week is the last week of November and we are now inching towards the closing of 2025 and will be ushering in the new year. Every single one of us will become older and my prayer for us is that we will be spiritually more mature in the Lord as we grow older! Amen!

He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep

https://odb.org/2025/11/21/always-awake-2

Psalm 121:1-4 NIV- 1 I lift up my eyes to the mountains— where does my help come from? 2 My help comes from the Lord, the Maker of heaven and earth. 3 He will not let your foot slip— he who watches over you will not slumber; 4 indeed, he who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep.

Two pilots fell asleep in the middle of their flight over Indonesia. While the commanding pilot had permission to nap once the plane reached cruising altitude, he woke up to find that his copilot had also dozed off. The two were asleep for about thirty minutes with more than 150 passengers and crew on board and while at approximately 36,000 feet altitude. The plane had veered off course, but thankfully the plane still arrived at its destination safely. Human pilots may snooze mid-flight, but we can rest assured that God never falls asleep. (Nancy Gavilanes, Our Daily Bread, 21 November 2025)

All adult male Israelites were to come to the temple every year to observe three national feasts (Deuteronomy 16:16). The journey was a perilous one, with travelers vulnerable to the treacherous mountain terrain, weather, wild animals, and robbers. As they journeyed into Jerusalem, the travelers sang from an anthology of fifteen “Pilgrim Psalms” or “Songs of Ascents” and Psalm 121, often referred to as “The Traveler’s Psalm,” is one such song. It acknowledges the Israelites’ safety concerns and highlights God’s protection of them. (Insight, Our Daily Bread, 21 November 2025)

The phrase, “He who watches over Israel will neither slumber nor sleep”, from Psalm 121:4 is one of those phrases in the Bible that remains etched in my memory from my Bible studies and from songs sang in the past although I tend to remember it as “neither sleep nor slumber”. It speaks of God’s protection over our lives akin to the hope and assurance given to Israelite pilgrims travelling to Jerusalem to celebrate the 3 annual festivals. It was not once in a lifetime but 3 times a year, which in today’s context symbolises our constant life’s journeys.

Our own lives may be fraught with risks and dangers. As we earn our living and accumulate savings for our future, there are people out there trying to scam us, to cheat us of our hard-earned cash. Worse there are spiritual forces trying to win over our hearts and minds to believe in things that compromise our faith like faith is man-made to just give some morality compass to humans. Or wrong ideas like heaven and hell and God and Satan are all created concepts for morality and ethics but they don’t actually exist. Nothing is going to happen after we die. We just vanish into nothingness. There is no life after death. So live life to the fullest and do what we think is best for ourselves now. There are forces constantly trying to draw us into the broad road that leads to destruction.

Like the Israelites travelling to Jerusalem, 3 times a year, we need to make that weekly journey to church to worship God with our fellow believers and rejuvenate our spiritual lives. At least keep our minds and hearts focussed on God and allow the Word to teach, encourage and strengthen our faith. Obey God’s Word and He will bring maturity to our spiritual lives.

Have a good weekend, everyone! Take care and may the LORD our God protect you and your loved ones always!