Victor Chen Ministries

My friend Andrew remarked that even when I am running during the Ironman race “I looked serious”.  Having had serious setbacks in life, I now don’t take for granted whatever opportunities come my way; be it in work, sports events, business and yes even academia at my age. By the grace of God, I have been recently appointed academic Dean of an institute and soon a Visiting lecturer of a local university. In the past I had to ask for money from mum to join Ironman races.  Last and this year, I am a sponsored athlete. I didn't have money to buy a bike, but when dad got money from disposing one of granddad's assets, he gave me some money and I could buy an "entry level" bike. Today I have a most expensive bike given to me as a gift.

The world does not owe us a living, only the opportunity to make a living. 

I don’t look down on people who are poor,  but on those who don’t try, and directionless. The Bible says without vision we perish. Without vision, we are directionless and floating in life. Wherever the circumstances blow us that’s our destiny.  Our destiny is hence dictated by chance and not us. 

It is the choices that we make, not the chances we take, which determines our destiny. 

We are what we are because of the choices we had made yesterday. The career success we have today is a product of our hard work, or years of dedicated studies or skill labour we had invested in. Had we spent our earlier years living the ‘wild life’, rather than investing time in developing our skills and knowledge, we will reap the fruit of that choice. How can we develop ourselves if we “lepak” doing leisurely things like hiking on weekdays, running and cycling and posting them non-fail on Facebook at every opportunity?

If we are financially poor then we need to sow towards prosperity. We have to enhance our skill sets, upgrade ourselves, and reinvent and innovate ourselves. Our gifts make room for us in the marketplace. The greater our gifts the more people can use you. When I was young I sowed a lot into my own learning and development. I read books after books, internalised them and then became an author of several books which has several million copies in circulation.

In today’s cruel economic world, there is no such thing as “job security”, only employability. Every day we turn up to work we need to “add value” to the organisation, if not then we literally are of no value to the organisation and are redundant. Gone are the days when a graduate can work in a bank for his entire life. AI and automation are making many jobs redundant. 

If you are in the same junior position for decades it means you are not developing yourself. There is no spirit of excellence. If after 20 years you are still a junior reporter in a news agency while your colleagues who had more drive became the Editor or Managing Director then there is something wrong with you. Or you are still a sales rep and not a sales supervisor or are sales manager after 10 years in the organization? 

God can only elevate us if we are willing to change. God had stripped me of everything to teach me many things. I have been through all the ridicule and shame, the legal suits from banks and vendors. But it’s God’s way so only then I can testify of His work and power in me. Only then can I be a mentor to the next generation. I cannot help those in need, to navigate through life’s problems if I myself had not been through it. It will just be textbook-based and not experiential. It’s from the grace that I received (John 1:16) to overcome my challenges that strengthened me. Like gold, God uses fire to refine us. The process is painful, we lose everything soulish, but in the process gain everything spiritual. 

Are we allowing God to terminate our soulish life? 

Many want success. They envy those successful around them but are not willing to pay the price to get there. Most of us are willing to follow God’s way when the going is easy and good, when it suits their desires, when we are comfortable and there is no major sacrifice. But without battles, there can be no victory. God can only work with winners, not losers. He can only use those who are willing to go on the cross and stay on the cross. 

Some are even hesitant and refuse to go on the cross. A faith that suffers nothing, lose nothing is usually worth nothing. Only God can build in us a holistically successful life that has permanence. Things that last takes a long to build, including the big and glorious destiny God has for you.