BRINGING UP SARA, 1.3 God’s Perfect Will for my Health Part 2
Part 2: God’s perfect will is not to heal us over and over
Cancer Strikes Again
Not long after the Lord led me into the wellness business, my sixth sister, Elin, who is just one year older than me, contracted stage 3C breast cancer. She had to undergo 16 rounds of very strong doses of chemotherapy.
I was determined not to lose her like we lost Irene.
Being better informed now, I advised my sister to do what the doctors said to do, but to also be open to other alternatives besides conventional medicine, since the doctors had given her a rather low rate of survival – the cancer cells had already spread.
“A More Excellent Way”
I went to read up more on cancer and was fortunate to find a little booklet from a Christian book store just released by a pastor in the US, Henry Wright, called “New Insights into Cancer” – an addendum to his earlier book “A More Excellent Way”.
He wrote:
“God’s perfect will is not to heal us. God’s perfect will is that we do not get sick.”
GOD'S PERFECT WILL IS NOT TO HEAL US. GOD'S PERFECT WILL IS THAT WE DO NOT GET SICK
I agree completely.
Yes, the perfect will of God is for us to be in good health.
Yes, God does heal people of diseases and illnesses.
But that is not His perfect will.
His perfect will is that we BE in perfect health.
That is, instead of neglecting or abusing our body and running to God to heal it when it breaks down, we have to take ownership of our health and do whatever is sensible to stay healthy.
My Body, His Temple
God asked me: “Do you believe that your body is the temple where the Holy Spirit now dwells? If you do, isn’t it only right that you treat your body with respect and reverence for the Holy Spirit who lives in you?”
I believe God is merciful and will forgive us if we fail to do so, but we will face the consequence of our actions or neglect.
For example, if God heals someone of cancer but he continues to smoke five packs of cigarettes every day, can he expect that his body will be able to fight a possible relapse of cancer?
Sickness is Painful, Costly and Quite Unnecessary
I realised that if I had continued to live the way I had lived before, the consequences to my health, my marriage and my family would have been dire.
Good physical food will give us good physical health.
Good spiritual food will give us good spiritual health.
It is the same too for our emotional, mental and relational health.
Busyness, I feel, is the work of the evil one to harm the family and the church.
BUSYNESS, I FEEL, IS THE WORK OF THE EVIL ONE TO HARM THE FAMILY AND THE CHURCH
I believe it saddens God to see how tired, frail and sick Christians and the Christian family have become. I became aware of more overcommitted church workers and pastors getting sick or dying from cancer and other serious diseases. Too often, we hear of pastors committing suicide from stress and depression.
Having dealt with the sickness and death of my parents and my siblings, I have personally experienced the toll it takes on the patient, their family and finances, and also on the quality of the patient’s life during and after medical treatment.
Investing into Good Health
Without health, every material thing I have is worthless. I will not be able to enjoy all the money I can make in the world. Illness and disease also bring a lot of pain and suffering to the people who love me most.
Cancer, in particular, is an ugly way to die, with treatments as deadly as the cancer itself. On a random trip that God called me to go to a mountain in the US in 2008, my friend Jenn introduced me to a cutting-edge health supplement that proved to be very good for my sister. I thank God for the resources to be able to support my sister throughout her long ordeal.
Elin, now more than ten years after her year-long chemotherapy, is cancer-free, living well and still working full-time in a clinic. Her doctors were happy for her and were especially impressed that she is doing so well despite working in a clinic, which they say is not an ideal workplace for a cancer patient. Her oncologist remarked that she has never seen a cancer patient like her, doing so well during and after all that intensive chemotherapy.
I decided to quit the Japanese company to join this new company from the USA, to the dismay of my mentor Liz, as I was just one step to reach the top rank. As this company’s sales distribution was done online, we could recruit member distributors worldwide. It provided me with the platform to encourage more people to take care of their health.
As the business grew, we travelled more – to the USA, Europe, Thailand, China, Malaysia and more. I learned a lot from the many health talks by medical doctors, professors and scientists at these conventions. Dealing with a lot of people with different health needs also led me to read up more and to consult with the company’s medical professionals.
The Power of Duplication and Leverage
Pastor BC had told me then: “What you learn from G12 (the Church growth multiplication model) can be applied to the MLM business, and what you learn from MLM you can also apply to G12.”
Learning from top gurus in the MLM industry also gave me an idea of how COBS could operate – leveraging on a simple model which is replicable and scalable, with each COBS member and team operating independently, but with shared values and goals.
After a short start-up training, we let the people go forth to build their own community, starting with their family, with open lines of guidance and support as and when needed. Then, once every few months, we gather together to encourage, inspire and share experiences with one another.
Thrown Out of Comfort Zone
As most of the people who came into my network were Mandarin-speaking, I was also thrown into learning and speaking Mandarin immediately. I found myself thrust out of my comfort zone as I had been educated all my life in English and worked in an English-speaking environment with multi-national companies.
But I was passionate about helping the sick get better, especially those where there is no more hope. I discovered that a lot of people do not know how to manage money wisely and have no clue how to achieve financial freedom. I realized there is a huge need out of the comfortable walls of the Church.
Encouraged by the many saved and set free, we thoroughly enjoyed the business and our weekly worship meetings, even though it was hard work. Even my husband cannot understand why I would want to work so hard.
Soon I was even able to give product and business talks, minister and teach in Mandarin! We also recruited China nationals in Singapore in the business and on their return, they started their own COBS teams in China. Today, they have weekly worship meetings in several cities in China.
Looking back, I realise how blessed I am to have been led into it. I find more and more that when God asks me to sacrifice or do something, especially something that is outside of my comfort zone, it is actually for my own benefit.
WHEN GOD ASKS ME TO SACRIFICE OR DO SOMETHING, ESPECIALLY SOMETHING THAT IS OUTSIDE OF MY COMFORT ZONE, IT IS ACTUALLY FOR MY OWN BENEFIT
Not only has He blessed the people dear to me with better health and enlarged my sphere of knowledge, but through this business, He has brought together our first COBS community and today, we continue to spread the love shared amongst us.
All the hard work, pain and investment I sowed into this business have been absolutely worth it, although I was quite happy when it was time to finally close this chapter after about 10 years in this industry, and start yet another circle in my walk with the Lord - in the Prayer Vault.
That I will share later.
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