2025: Exponential Faith
Dec 11, 2024
During our bi-monthly meeting yesterday, the wealth stewards shared how dire is the economy in China. Have you heard of the “lie down flat”（躺平） movement in China - where young people have given up; unable to take it anymore, totally burned out from a 12-hour, 6-day a week work regime? Well, it will only get worse as the economy is facing grave challenges that now even fresh graduates have trouble finding work.
Bao shared that more than one million people have left his city, causing many service, retail and food businesses to go belly up. He reported that many of our members’ businesses have also been badly affected, his own has gone down about one third in this year already! Sonia plans to downsize and hive off 80% of her business eventually as it is now politically incorrect to be successful and wealthy when the common people are struggling financially.
Meanwhile, in our little island state, while our country reported an economic growth of just over 2% this year, projections are lowered for 2025. I sense a strained, nervous quietness. Things are slowing. Small businesses will barely survive. The man in the street is feeling the pain and financial stress. Almost suddenly, we are witnessing an alarming increase in crazy actions by crazy people. There is a sense of heightened desperation.
Nonetheless, we are all thankful that God has led us to build up and store up during the good years of transference. Perhaps it is for such a time.
Hard Times Globally
Elsewhere, countries and businesses brace themselves for new trade tariffs promised by the new President of the US when he takes office in January 2025. Worldwide, consumer prices are expected to skyrocket when countries take measures to protect their economy and impose tariffs of their own as well. Some countries may go bankrupt, unable to pay the cost of imports and the cost of running their country.
On the political front, Syria fell yesterday to the rebel army, after Israel took out Hezbollah in the past few months, ending the era of rule for President Assad. The world awaits to see who will form the new government, all linked to terrorist organisations, while the US and the West ponder new alliances. And a day before that, the South Korean President suddenly imposed martial law, inciting massive protests, and was swiftly overruled constitutionally, while more bombing and more war threats went on in the already warring countries.
I feel the heaviness in the air, so heavy, that it makes it almost too hard to breathe, which has rendered me exhausted and restless at times. The other members too. This fatigue is not normal. So, from July this year, we huddled together to pray harder, extending our worship meeting on Monday mornings with a prayer meeting after lunch.
V: Expect troubles to escalate everywhere. There will be a marked increase in hardship around the globe.
Well, I cannot say I am surprised really.
For the Lord has already told us already – that things are going to escalate into a Mother-of-All-Wars, if we are not in it already. Two more years… we have to brace ourselves. Hopefully just two more years.
Exponential Faith
I was surprised by a sudden burst of energy that led me to look at the pictures I took at the George Muller Museum in Bristol last month. I have been so swamped, so crazily swamped that I can barely think, ever since our return.
Take it from a man who walked away from a comfortable life and career in Prussia, Germany, to go start his mission for God in England, where he barely spoke the language then and at a time of economic hardship and widespread disease in the land, and whose legacy survived two world wars to this day:
Yea,
No war,
No fire,
No mercantile panic,
No loss of friends,
No death,
<Can touch the blessedness of faith.
It goes on its own steady course.
It triumphs over difficulties.
It works most easily in the greatest difficulties.
For those who really confide in God.
Amen.
Thank you, Lord, for leading me to visit his museum last month.
And to take courage and comfort in George Muller’s legacy –
Of blessed faith.
Blessed Exponential Faith.
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