Outcast? Who cares?

Outcast? - Who cares?

It had been some time since I wrote a devotion post. Many things happened and life went on piling up with experiences upon experiences. I came to a major crossroad of my life just about 3 months back. That was the end of my 3 years of poly life. I need to chose between working or continue studying on. Honestly speaking, I did not have the financial ability to continue in pursuing my degree. I would either need to get a bank loan or to work and earn school fees.

In one of the service, Pastor preached about crossroads. I asked the Lord. What do you want me to do? Which step is the best for me? If I go out and work now, am I ready? I was filled with uncertainty about how I am going to handle the new life that is approaching me. I was sitting on the fence and couldn’t decide what to do next. The Lord spoke. Everyone have their own life to live and I have my own. What may seem best for someone else may not be the same for my case. Each person is carefully and wonderfully made by the Lord with a different purpose of life in them.

God opened a door for me in this midst after speaking that I should work for the money then continue to study. I was initially interested in events management/ coordinator and office job. But there is no such combination from what I have seen so far. You either be in the events industry where work time is not defined and all around the clock or it would be a pure 9-5 job where I would be desk bounded. However, we have a creative God who plans things in a unique way. He led my current manager to share with me about the position of central support officer in church. Then I realise that such position does exist. Although that meant that I would need to sacrifice things that I quite treasured like the time I sit together with the tribe and have a mini gathering cum briefing with the tribe every Sunday, it is a place where I knew that my spiritual life would not be depleted by the job but rather grow in my walk with the Lord.

I went for the interview and after a few days of anticipation day and night, I was accepted. About 2 weeks later, I went for Service learning facilitation course. One of the facilitation illustrations was asking the participants to walk in circles along and within the track. Those who cannot keep up with the speed of the others will be called an outcast and brought to another room which is dark and there we are all isolated somewhere in the corner of the room and isolated from the others. That game was called “Pace of life”. The Lord made me understand that I do not need to follow people’s pace all the time. I can be the pace setter or chose to be the outcast. There are two kinds of outcast - One that chose to be an outcast or one who is labelled as outcast when you cannot keep up with the pace of the society.

In this part of my life, I chose to be that outcast. To believe that I am different and there is no need to follow everyone else in the same pace knowing that it may not be suitable for me. The facilitator of the program sat us down and asked us how we felt being an outcast and those who are left on the track. There are many answers but with a little of feeling of being left out and felt uneasy, I still said “Who cares?” That was truly how I felt when I chose to work full time and committing myself to the Lord. It is not an easy journey with many family objections and discouragements added with many questions darted at me. Many could not understand and agree with what I was doing. But the Lord reminded me that I am his special one and he plans the best route for me in my life. As long as I trust in him, he will bring me through and gain victorious battles.

At the end of the day, it is your choice. To choose to be an outcast or to chase after the pace of the pace setters in your life and be labelled as outcast when you cannot follow up with their footsteps. I pray that you would be able to say, “Outcast? Who cares?” when people name you that. May God reveal his plans to you.

Jovii Lim

Liang Ming’s Cell