Lessons from my Workplace: God is All and in All

I thank God that my time serving my national service is coming to an end really soon. I’m now in midst of clearing my offs and leaves. What a good period of time it is that God has given me to reflect on his goodness towards me and lessons he has taught me for the past 1 year and 9 months!The past 1 year and 9 months serving my national service wasn’t exactly smooth sailing. In fact, I would rather describe it as a roller-coaster ride. I have been posted to 4 different units in total. In each unit, encountering various forms of trials and learning quite a few life lessons, I have been given an opportunity to draw closer to him and grow in different aspects of my faith.

Firstly, I was posted to be a commando. After which, I was posted to medic school to be trained as a medic. Then, I was posted to be a medic in an armour unit. Finally, I arrived at my current workplace in the medical centre of another unit. My postings couldn’t possibly come by chance! How few servicemen had a chance to be in 4 different units to experience 4 different aspects of army life like me!  Yet in each unit, I learnt things of varying character. I am so convinced from this that God has been in control of my life and bringing me through his purposes for my life. I thank God for his sovereignity in my postings.

In my first unit, training to be a commando, God had kept me safe from harm and major injuries. Being an injury-proned person, I’m amazed how I did not break any bones nor suffer from any exhaustion through all the physically and mentally challenging exercises. The training there pushed me nearly to my physical limits. I have broke few of my personal records there by not sleeping for my record number of hours and walking my record distance. Yet, I was kept safe amidst all these. I knew it wasn’t me alone who went through all these things.  I am someone who is weak mentally and I do give up easily when things are tough. God was carrying me through by his own hand.

In medic school, I had to face my greatest childhood fear: Needles. Since young, I have been traumatised by needles. I would be so afraid that would not be able to sleep well the night before knowing there would be vaccinations in school the next day. A section of the training in school was to practice Intravenous Infusion(IV) on each other’s arms. To make things worse, I was told that we would be using the needles that were the size of “Vitagen” or “Yakult” straws. Throughout the first few weeks of the course, I couldn’t sleep well the night before the IV practice. The practices were so torturing for me that I repeatedly fell ill. Miraculously, I overcame needles at the end of the medic course. God was in this too! He took all my fears away.

I am reminded by this verse:

Psalms 8:4: “What is man, that Thou dost take thought of him? And the son of man, that Thou dost care for him?”

Looking back at God’s goodness in my life, especially in these past 2 years, I am reminded again that I have a loving heavenly Father who is interested even in my life. He cares for me and is constantly watching over me, keeping me from harm’s way. I am but a man, but he, the creator of heaven and earth, does take thought of me.

Thank you Lord!