Dear HCMC,
Last year, on 23 August 2024, the shocking phenomenon of sinkholes made news headlines, when a woman on holiday in Kuala Lumpur was suddenly swallowed up by the pavement. As she was taking a serene morning stroll, the ground beneath her gave way, plunging her into a chasm eight metres deep. She has not been found and has since been declared dead.
A sinkhole is not just any large hole in the ground. It refers specifically to a hole caused by the dissolution of soluble rocks below. Basically, rocks and soil underneath the surface are progressively washed away by water, leaving an underground chasm. The surface may look completely fine. Yet in fact, it has lost its underlying support. Then without warning, everything caves in, leaving people with the terrifying sense that even the very earth beneath their feet is not secure.
Tragically, our lives may be like one of these sinkholes. Have you ever felt on the verge of a sinkhole-like cave in? We may look fine on the outside. We may appear to be functioning well from day to day. We may even be successful and accomplished. But inside, we are wracked by a host of negativities—fear, fatigue, anxiety, loneliness, emptiness, and so on. Our inner world is out of order. Our inner person is neglected. These wants and weaknesses in our inner life create a chasm within that cannot sustain the weight of external events and pressures that press upon us.
We inhabit two worlds. The outer, public world is what we often focus on. It is visible and measurable—academic achievements, career advancement, relationships and social networks, physical strength and beauty. The inner, private world is invisible and spiritual in nature. It does not shout for our attention like the outer world, but it is more consequential in the long run. For it is where values are formed, character is forged, and priorities are determined. It is the unseen foundation on which our outer world is to be built. It is also where our relationship with God begins.
Our church theme for 2025 is: “Listen in spirit, connect to God”. This is a call to focus on our inner life. We affirm that God speaks to us. This speaking is not typically in the form of an external and audible voice, but an inner prompting, a compass within. As such, we are to listen to God in our inner spirit. As we do this, we will connect with God at this deep level, in the inner space of our souls.
God desires to commune with us in this inner space. He invites us into His inner space, into His very presence, through Jesus Christ. As our church theme verse Hebrews 4:16 promises us, “Let us then approach God’s throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” God knows our deepest needs. He wants to shine His light into our inner darkness, to sort out our private sins and persistent struggles, to rebuild our life’s foundations upon His love, grace and truth. He wants to renew us from inside out. Will we let Him?
God has also offered us the means of grace to enter into His presence with confidence: Bible reading, prayer, fasting, meditation, fellowship, worship, service. Why not spend some time in devotional silence and solitude as you begin this year, to bring your inner life before God?
“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.” (2 Corinthians 4:16)
May 2025 mark a new beginning of inner renewal for us, as we listen in spirit and connect to God!
Rev Timothy
