Looking Inside: Rely on the Lord for Help

Philippian 4:11-13

11 Not that I speak in respect of want: for I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content.

12 I know both how to be abased, and I know how to abound: every where and in all things am instructed both to be full and to be hungry, both to abound and to suffer need.

13 I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.

After the meeting with the client last week, I did remember that Yeap asked me to carefully calculate out the current stocks at the site and determine if he needed to order extra carpets from China. I remembered that he told me to come out with options for him. Then, I worked through the night, and I came out with three options and WhatsApp to him the following day. Eventually, he called me and told me that this was not what he wanted. He mentioned his final decision and asked me to make sure of it. I was speechless, and my mind was suddenly blank at that moment, thinking of how can I do it.

After putting down the phone, Jessie called a short while and mentioned her disappointment that I did not use my brain to think about how to solve it and asked me if I just wanted to be a despatch only. I kept quiet and listened to her dissatisfaction with me, and she said I just wanted to throw the problems back to Yeap only but did not want to face it. She finally hung up her call. I can feel her anger toward me.

I felt so sad, very down and helpless for that instance. After praying to Heavenly Father and thinking for a while, I called the installer to do a physical site measurement at the site the next day, Thursday, a Deepavali public holiday. I called Alvin and told him that I needed to work on the Deepavali holiday and could not accompany him and the children.

E Chin asked me to pray to Father before I do everything and seek His guidance to work the things out. I did it on Thursday when I was doing the site measurement, and everything went well after spending four hours at the site. I had peace of mind and felt the comfort that the Lord gives.

On Friday, I sat down in the office, calculated the available stocks and site measurements, and checked if we had sufficient to complete this project. I find that it is just enough, and I do hope that it is. I reported the outcome to Yeap, somehow our telephone conversation cut off, and he did not call back. I guess he was satisfied with the results of my findings. This week is indeed a long week for me.

Fortunately for my PathwayConnect study, we have started our team semester project, and I have very supportive sisters in the team. Thus, it is not so much pressure for me as I have to work alone on the weekly assignments.

I am grateful that the Lord's guidance helps me to go through this week. I am thankful for E Chin, who works in the Lord's hand in willing to talk to me and advise me to seek the Lord's help. I am grateful that Alvin understands my work situation and is willing to care for the children for that Deepavali holiday.

These are the words of Paul in a letter to the people of Philippi, “For I have learned, in whatsoever state I am, therewith to be content” (Phillippians 4:11). To be content no matter what circumstances we are in is easier said than done. To my surprise, I learned that Apostle Paul wrote these words while he was imprison in Rome.

I read an author in her article wrote, Hannah Pirzadeh “We Can All Find Joy within Our Personal Prisons,” Liahona February 2021 issue:

“Unlike Paul, most of us do not spend our days locked up within prison walls. But so many of us can be locked in a prisonlike state of mind—trapped within a trial that appears to be closing in on us. Our prisons could be a lost job, the death of a loved one, loneliness, fear, financial turbulence, addiction, hurt, or anxiety. When we feel locked in our own personal prisons, do we, like Paul, fill our hearts and our speech with thankfulness, hope, faith, trust, and joy? Could we look back at our times in prison and refer to them as the happiest chapters of our lives? How is that even possible?”

“This becomes possible when we believe what Paul believed when he said, “I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me” (Philippians 4:13). It is through Jesus Christ that we can be so full of joy even in our darkest places, “in whatsoever state I am” (Philippians 4:11).”

“When we are in our prisons and pray with everything we have got, thanking Heavenly Father for all He has done, we can truly rest assured that everything will be all right because of Jesus Christ.”

“Just remember, it was because of Christ that, when Paul was in prison, he wrote the happiest book of the Bible. Our own prisons can be our happiest chapters too. As President Russell M. Nelson taught, “When the focus of our lives is on God’s plan of salvation … and Jesus Christ and His gospel, we can feel joy regardless of what is happening—or not happening—in our lives.”² We can be happy and strengthened through Jesus Christ, in whatsoever state we are.”

I am thankful for the peace and comfort that the Lord has given me during these troubled times. I know I could not make it through this week without my Savior's help.

I have learned to rely on the Lord daily for the strength and knowledge I need to go through each day throughout these past two weeks.

And, today I learn that I can do all things through Christ who strengthened me,in whatsoever state or circumstances I am in.

The Gospel Media credit to https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org.