SBConnect Newsletter August 2023

Dear Fellow Alumni,

My heart is deeply grieved as I realize several of our alumni are carrying heavy burdens and going through deep pain – personal, family, ministry and other realms of challenges. In times like these, I feel so helpless and powerless! But God keeps drawing me to himself in order to find solace and comfort in him through prayer and his Word. He reminds me over again that when I pray, he lends me his ear! And when I read his Word, I hear him speak loud and clear! Yes, God is my Shepherd and in him, l (and you) lack nothing! He makes me lie down in green pastures, he restores my soul, he leads me in the path of righteousness for his name sake. (Psalm 23:1-3).

Therefore I am able to cry out to God for his mercy and intervention for my beloved brothers and sisters as they walk through the valley of the shadow of death (Psalm 23:4). I can run to the Psalms and hear God speaking to me in his gentle voice, through the cries of the psalmists. One of the Psalms I revisited is Psalm 62 even as I pray for my fellow alumni who are grieving or in deep pain.

For God alone my soul waits in silence;

from him comes my salvation.

He only is my rock and my salvation,

my fortress; I shall not be greatly shaken…

Trust in him at all times, O people;

pour out your heart before him;

God is a refuge for us. (Psalm 62:1,2 & 8)

We must keep going back to God and his Word for solace, comfort, wisdom and strength. We are commanded to pour out our hearts to God (Psalm 62:8) because he hears; he cares; and he will act according to his perfect will for his beloved children. He is our loving God who is our Father. He is reliable, dependable, trustworthy and unchanging.

For all of you reading this today, may I urge you to find rest in God even as the following song invites us to take shelter under his wings and find our rest in him:

Hide me now under your wings

Cover me in within your mighty hand

When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with you above the storm

Father you are King over the floods

I will be still and know you are God.

Find rest my soul in Christ alone

Know his power in quietness and trust

When the oceans rise and thunders roar

I will soar with you above the storm

Father you are King over the flood

I will be still and know you are God.

Hide Me Under Your Wings

Together we journey with Christ Jesus at the helm! Stay blessed!

Your Fellow Sojourner
Dr Violet James (Alumni Advisor)
bvjames@sbc.edu.sg