Running the race #13 Poignant 18th sep 08

Dear…

'My people will dwell in peaceful habitation, in secure dwellings, and in quiet resting places.'
Isaiah 32:18

Like me, if you happen to be working or used to be working, the latter not by choice, but by real default of one's once venerable institution, but now consigned to memory, the above verse Isaiah 32:18 seems furthur for all of us, than Siberia. The so called second wind of the hurricane is upon us, and surreal it might seem, once proud institutions are either being brought down to their knees or are scrambling hard to find shelter before the forces of fear and panic and greed combine to knock not just the wind out of them, but to bring down the very foundations of businesses built over several generations.

Fear has never seem so palpable.

'Woe unto him that saith to the wood, Awake; to the dumb stone, Arise, it shall teach! Behold, it is laid over with gold and silver, and there is no breath at all in the midst of it.

But the Lord is in His holy temple: let all the earth keep silence before Him.'
Habakkuk 2:19-20

The alchemists in our midst in the financial world, who have been recklessly tinkering with the potent mix of greed, pride and deceit, who have for so many years lured many to the promised riches of financial engineering, have of late not just seen their many toxic brews blown up in their faces, but along with it, the very laboratory or rather, financial institutions that their predecessors have taken generations to build.

The demons of fear have been released. The domino effect will be a self fulfilling momentum, as men, who not too many months ago were irrationally exuberant, now begin to break free from the anchor of rationality and instead allow their imaginations to go wild and turn them into a thundering herd of fearful lemmins, that will probably culiminate in their jumping over the proverbial cliff, believing that the imaginary monster behind them is more real and scary, than the reality of the deep ravine that they are about to plunge into.

To witness a run on banks is an experience that our parents might have been more familiar with, but to witness a run on insurance companies, now that might be setting new grounds, but who knows, we could be about to witness even newer scarier experiences!!

''Unto thee, O God, do we give thanks, unto Thee do we give thanks: for that Thy name is near Thy wondrous works declare.;

Psalms 75:1

Lately, or more like in the past couple of months, the Lord has woken me up an hour earlier than my normal 6a.m. But unlike the past pre-follower days of our Lord Jesus Christ, the solitude of the morning is no longer spent pondering upon the concerns of the world, or letting one's fears or greed, ever have that chance of renewing its grip upon one's soul. But rather, the time for me is now spent wonderfully with the Lord our God in prayers, in reflection in His presence and in His Word.

'I cried unto God with my voice, even unto God with my voice: and He gave ear unto me.'
Psalm 77:1

Tearing for me, as brought forth by the Spirit of God, though slightly less regular than stockmarket crashes, have always been a great experience, if not defining moments for me. This morning, as the Lord brought met to Psalms 76-77, as I pondered upon His Words, He brought this great sense of gratefulness on my part, that tearing(one don’t call it crying, at least not for the macho man) was the only response a thankful heart can give to our Abba Father, for His love and grace. The Lord our God has truly brought all of us who work in this still venerable institution, into the shelter of His love, even as the marauding financial vultures were ready to collect us as their next scalp, after successfully bringing about the downfall of another venerable Investment Bank the same weekend. Appropriately, in the newspapers in Singapore a couple of days back, there was this very expensive piece of live or rather a very dead bull, soaked in preservative compounds and showcased in a transparent box and positioned as a piece of art, to be displayed in our local museum. For many who are in this business, clearly just a day more of delay and the chapter would have closed on our very existence. But it was not to be and now the vultures have moved on to feast on AIG, next across the Atlantic ocean, to the Brits, who are srcambling harder than an egg in the pan to arrange quickie marriages, to ward off unwanted intrusions.

My strength is made perfect in weakness.'
Romans 8:26-28

The journey for all of us have just entered a new phase. The financial pandemonium is likely to move globally the next few weeks, but just like a shooting star, a large part of the fear will as quickly burn itself out in a matter of weeks, rather than months. Short as it might seem, the wreckage left behind will be tremendous, for wealth will be lost, jobs thrown out of the window, and personal health issues and the very foundations of families will be shaken. A client just sms me as to what does "misery index" mean't. I have no idea, just like one can never measure the exact nadir of fear, but one can tell when we are near the peak of irrationality just by looking at the masses.

Similarly, poignant moments cannot be measured, but it can be observed. But only the Lord our God knows what is truly in our hearts, and the exact moment when in allowing the mighty hurricane to finally blow away the darkness that have encapsulated our very hearts and view of Him, to allow His light to shine forth into our broken and contrite spirit.

'Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: Who is so great a God as our God?'
Pslams 77:13

The shakings in the financial sector is no longer a localised situation, specific to just a few of us. The reveberations of man's greed and now fear will emanate forth into the global economy, and in turn magnify itself into the political, social and down to the very family structure. The present coundrum that we find ourselves in has its origins in man's own sinfulness. In letting greed, pride and now fear take precedence over contentment and stewardship. Good banking practices, decent standards of honesty and integrity had little value in the go go years, where Kylie Minogue's couple of million dollars paycheck for a gig in oil rich Dubai pales in comparison to that of the hundred of millions, and for some hedge fund managers, billions in compensation.

'Give ear, O My people, to My law, incline your ears to the words of My mouth.'
Psalms 78:1

The Americans have in their coinage, "in God in trust" but like many who are Christians in name, but secular in heart, the only thing that many placed their trusts in was mammon.

With the season of fear now upon us, many once greedy investors, would soon be literally "throwing out the baby with the bath water." Just a few months back, many in their rush for the material delusions of the devil, have long thrown out their moral character, and the commands of God.

Are we in Asia, in the process of going down the same road of swapping God's will, for the desires of the world?. Now is the time, in the midst of this shaking, to repent and come back into the presence of the Lord our God. If we as the present generation do love the world more than God, there is a very real possibility that the present character of our next generation, our children will gradually be transformed into the ways of the devil, and what our forefathers take to build these past few generations, can also go the same way of USA today.

'We then, as workers together with Him, beseech you also that ye receive not the grace of God in vain. (For he saith, I have heard thee in a time accepted, and in the day of salvation have I succoured thee: behold, now is the accepted time; behold, now is the day of salvation.')

2 Corinthians 6:1-2

Cycles will come and they will go. This is not the end of the world yet, at least not if it is based on our fears that postulate too much into the depths of despair. Our Lord Jesus Christ will return, no one knows when, but till then, He will allow the world to be shaken that much harder, increasingly, for our souls are at stake, and while it is our sinfulness that often bring upon our own sorrows, God will allow us to fall that much harder, if it is necessary to awaken us to the dangers that lies ahead, for indeed it is not just our very souls, but the souls of our loved ones that is at risk of eternal damnation.

To lose our material comforts or even our very lives is indeed a painful experience, but it will be more than poignant when you realize too late that your very soul has been lost for eternity, because you have not invested well, by coming unto the presence of the Lord our God always.

'That the generation to come might know them, even the children which should be born: …..that they might set their hope in God, and not forget the works of God, but keep His commandments'

Psalms 78:5-8

God Blesses

Eng Hieang
(18sep08)