Prayer Letter - March 2009

We are assured and know that [God being a partner in their labor] all things work together and are [fitting into a plan] for good to and for those who love God and are called according to [His] design and purpose. Rom 8:28 (Amp)

This is a passage most of us have read, meditated on and heard numerous sermons preached. Yet when sickness strikes us, we are “downsized” out of job, the financial recession wipes away our life’s savings or a spouse of several years walks out our life, how do we view this passage of Scripture? Does it make any sense any more? Well, I guess here is where the rubber meets the road!

I distinctly remember that day 7 years ago, when as a General Manager in a leading pharmaceutical company, my boss called me in and handed me the proverbial “pink slip”. I was no longer needed. Can you imagine how crushed I was? All the hard work of the past 5 years down the hole! A few weeks later I enrolled for the International seminar in H.I., Singapore. The rest, as they say, is history.

Narratives such as this are being increasingly played out in today’s Marketplace environment, but for those who willingly surrender to the Maker, they see the light at the end of the tunnel. Revisit the advice of James: consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way. (James 1:2-4 The Message).

What comes through in this passage is that adversity helps in building maturity and develops an all-round and complete Christ-like personality. The Old Testament story of Joseph amply illustrates the fact that God uses adversity in the lives of His children. According to noted preacher, Charles Stanley, adversity, is not simply a tool. It is God’s most effective tool for the advancement of our spiritual lives. These unwelcome and disturbing circumstances are often the very things that propel us into periods of intense spiritual growth.

Many quote the Romans passage incompletely. When faced with difficulties, they shrug and say -  It is all for the best. But that is not completely true. The promise of Rom 8:28 is a conditional promise. I need to love God (which by the way is the first and greatest commandment) and sense deeply that He has called me according to His purposes. In other words, I love Him deeply and know that I am in the center of His will. Under such circumstances, the apparently terrible things that happen to us like sickness, bereavement, job losses etc are really “for good”. It makes sense. Otherwise it is nonsense!!

The passage from James also teaches me that adversity creates the kind of pressure that forces the believer’s “faith-life” into the open and shows its true colors. Thus the “good” of Rom 8:28 is not necessarily the story of a person who is downsized from his or her job and in the end gets a better one. It may be the story of the child of God who experiences the full force of the current recession, loses his or her job, and comes to a greater understanding of what it means to trust God daily.

The reason why so many of us struggle so intensely with adversity is that we still haven’t adopted God’s perspective and priorities. Not all of God’s saints had their lives ending with “and they lived happily ever after”. Read about them in the “Faith Hall of Fame” in Hebrews 11. Some stories had a happy ending. Others did not have it so good. But they were all commended for their faith (vs 39) and blessed by God!         

When we allow God to shape our priorities, adversity takes on a whole new meaning. We see it as an integral part of what God is doing in our lives. We begin to understand that adversity is sometimes a means to greater joy and peace. We do not panic and assume that God has forgotten about us. Rather we rest content in the fact that God is doing a greater “good” in our lives.

In today’s Marketplace environment, this is not easily understood. We live in a success and achievement oriented society. When things do not go our way or worse – go exactly the opposite of what we had planned, we get angry and frustrated. In some cases, we feel judged by our co-workers or those in the family around us. We shout out the question Why Lord? But if we truly love God and are called according to His purposes, our questions should be: Lord, what are you saying to me? What do you want me to learn? What needs to be changed or eliminated in my lifestyle?

One last point about adversity. It is a wonderful tool to share the Gospel, especially when we have negotiated the hard times with God’s help and have come out of the tunnel. Imagine the joy, peace and hope that I can share with others during the times I experienced God’s presence the most.

Highlight:

8th Northeast Regional Haggai Institute Alumni Get-Together Dates: 4 - 7 March 2009 Venue: NORTH EASTERN HILL UNIVERISTY (NEHU) CAMPUS, SHILLONG, MEGHALAYA Hosting partner: Haggai Institute Alumni Association, Shillong Theme – “Ownership : Motivating & Mobilizing Alumni for Evangelizing” (Celebrating 20 years of Haggai Institute Ministry in India)

Over 50 Alumni attended the Get-together from all over the Northeastern Region. Rev. Susanta Patra challenged the Alumni on being effective witnesses of the Gospel. The Alumni had a prayer cum Shillong sightseeing trip. They prayed for the City of Shillong and for the entire Northeastern Region. Mr. Paul Balasundaram, Executive Director and Mr. Bijoy Sangma, Director Operations were present at the Get-together.

• The Faculty Initiation Seminars held at Pune and Trichy dated 21st to 23rd Feb’09 and 27th Feb to 1st Mar’09 with 12 and 13 participants respectively.
• Mr. Vijay Sasane’s promotional visit to Jalna dated 19th Feb’09, which has resulted in planning of a seminar and Alumni Meets held at Nazarene Church-Aurangabad & Chikhali.
• Mr. Donald Pant’s fruitful ministry visit to Chhindwara & Seoni in Madhya Pradesh.
• The Alumni Get-together held at Hotel Gomti, Lucknow dated 23rd & 24th Feb’09 with an attendance of 26 participants.
• The quick recovery of Mr. Kumardas from his ill health in Feb’09.
• The seminars conducted in the month of February: Northern Region: New Delhi SLS, Dwarka-New Delhi; Southern Region: Mysore, Madurai; Western Region: Mehmadabad, Parathwada-Akola SS, Anand-Gujarat (Twin seminars), Ahmednagar; NE Region: Akinpara-Meghalaya, Damalgre-Meghalaya; AP Region: Rajampeta, Kondapalli.

Please Pray For:

• New Coordinators to be appointed in Rajasthan, Punjab, Uttaranchal & Himachal Pradesh.
• The revival of Aurangabad & Nasik Alumni Associations.
• Regional Alumni Get-together for Central Region scheduled 28th and 29th Sep’09 at Jhansi, Uttar Pradesh.
• Mr. Donald Pant’s son Raunaq, who is appearing for the Board Examination.
• Mr. Donald Pant’s forthcoming ministry visit to Agra, Gonda, Gorakhpur & Rauxal in Uttar Pradesh.
• Mrs. Suvarna Rani Gandham, Society Member, & Mr. T. G. V. Naidu, former Society Member, who are unwell.
• The upcoming Staff Meeting scheduled 21st & 22nd Apr, National Executive Committee Meeting scheduled 23rd Apr and Haggai Institute National Society, 22nd Annual General Meeting scheduled 24th & 25th Apr’09 at Taj Banjara Hotel, Hyderabad.
• Suitable candidate for the post of Regional Director for Western Region.
• Suitable candidate for the post of Area Manager for Northeast Region.
• The upcoming State Level Seminars in 2009: Pune 15 – 20 Mar, Kohima 20 – 25 Apr, TLM Miraj 27 Apr – 1 May, Coonoor 1 – 5 May, Mettupalayam 1 – 5 May, Trivandrum 1 – 5 May, Panchgani 2 – 6 May, Panchgani 11 – 16 May, Navsadhana-Pune 19 – 23 May, Bilaspur 19 – 23 May, Jhansi 15 – 20 Jun, Pune 11 – 16 Aug, Pondicherry 12 – 16 Aug, Pune 12 – 16 Oct, Kolhapur 19 – 23 Oct.
  

NS – National Seminar, SLS – Special Leadership Seminar, SLSD– SLS for Doctors,
In-house - seminar fee is not disclosed as it is a sponsored seminar.

Please Note: We seek your prayer support for all these National Level seminars coming up. We also solicit your assistance in the recruitment of suitable candidates for these seminars. For more information regarding these seminars please feel free to call us at 040 27131209, 27141221 & 32928823 or email at hiindia@haggai-india.com also browse our website: www.haggai-india.com

Seminars in March 2009

Note: Please be informed that you can now deposit your donation Cheques/DD’s favouring ‘Haggai Institute’ directly with our account # 01262560000416 in any branch of HDFC Bank. Please do intimate our office the deposit details indicating your name, the amount and the date of deposit.

Yours in Him,
Paul Balasundaram