Testimony of the All-Sufficient Grace of God
Elder John Leong

“And he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness. Most gladly therefore will I rather glory in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.” 2 Corinthians 12:9

I thank God for the privilege to serve in Kemaman Life BP Church in Malaysia, Terengganu. On 16 March 2023 (Thursday), I took the night bus at 10.15pm from Johor Bahru Larkin bus station to Kemaman. The Lord granted safe journey and I arrived at Kemaman at around 4.30am, after which I went to a house to rest. This house is called the Upper room where preachers from Singapore who come each week to Kemaman can have their rest. Thank God for providing preachers so that God’s Word can be preached to both the adults and children in Kemaman. Typically, I would go about 4 times a year to Kemaman as the Lord opens the door to serve Him.

Friday afternoons at 2pm are the Sunday School classes for the children and youth and the worship services (separate for English and Mandarin) are held at night at 8pm. After some rest in the morning on 17 March (Friday), I went to Dr and Mrs Wee’s house at 11am, where the Sunday School classes are held. Preacher Samuel Joseph was with me as he was preaching in the English worship service, while I was preaching at the Mandarin worship service. Thank God for helping me to teach the Sunday School classes for the youth. Some of them are unbelievers but are touched by the good testimony of Dr and Mrs Wee with their love and care, that these children and youths are willing to come to listen to God’s Word. In Kemaman, most youths will go away for further studies or work after they have completed their high school at 18 years old. This is an important time for these youths to be grounded in God’s Word and to
know the Lord Jesus Christ personally in their lives.

After the Sunday School class ended, Dr Wee sent Preacher Samuel and I back to the Upper room for us to prepare for the night worship services. This is when the incident happened, that the middle finger of my left-hand was slammed by the door. Frankly, I didn’t know how it happened as I was holding the door for Preacher Samuel to enter the house. Before I knew it, the door closed very fast on me as I pulled back my hand. When the door closed, I saw lots of blood on the floor and then I realised that it was my finger that has been cut by the door. I called Preacher Samuel for help and then the excruciating pain was felt. I kept pressing my finger to prevent the blood from oozing out but it was in vain. I did not know how serious it was then, that my finger bone was cut off by the door. Preacher Samuel actually found the piece of my finger bone which had been cut off and kept it in the refrigerator.

Preacher Samuel called Dr Wee for help as he is a medical doctor. He came and knew the seriousness of the condition. He wrapped my injured finger tightly and called for the clinic doctor downstairs to come to treat me with their medication. Thank God this doctor was on his way back to Kemaman after his trip in Kuantan. After a while, the blood kept flowing out while I waited to be treated at the clinic. I was wondering if I could still chair and preach at the Mandarin worship service. And I just committed this to the Lord as He has called me to serve and His grace is all sufficient to help me (2 Cor 12:9). The clinic doctor arrived with his wife who is also a doctor. Together with Dr Wee, I was treated by 3 doctors and they told me that my finger needed surgery and asked if I wanted to do it in Kemaman. I told them that I would do it in Singapore on Saturday when I return. They decided to try to stop the bleeding with some treatment and then bandaged my finger very tightly. I was relieved that the blood was not flowing out then. I went back to the Upper room to rest and to prepare for worship. About 6pm, we left for Dr Wee’s house for dinner and lo and behold, the blood from my finger started to ooze out again. I knew the injury was very serious and that I could not conduct the worship service with blood flowing out from my finger at the pulpit. When we reached Dr Wee’s house, the Lord gave him the wisdom to bandage 2 of my fingers together and to tie the bandage extremely tight. I told him that I needed to preach and after which I will take the night bus back to Singapore so the blood must be contained. Dr Wee was very
worried that my finger would lose its function as it was tied very tightly to prevent blood from flowing inside. I just committed to the Lord as His grace will not fail me.

The Lord was very gracious to help me to chair and preach at the Mandarin worship service and the blood was not flowing out. I learnt to serve the Lord trusting in His grace. I was not affected by the finger injury
as the Lord helped me throughout the service. All praise and glory to the Lord. Thank God for providing co-labourers that we could return to Singapore together as well as for their help in the journey. We departed from Kemaman just past midnight and arrived at Johor Bahru Larkin bus station at around 6am on Saturday. The Lord was good that I could sleep very well in the bus despite my finger injury.

From Larkin station, I could take the Causeway express bus to Queen’s Street. God had provided everything perfectly as Raffles Hospital is just a 5 minutes walking distance from Queen’s Street bus station. In addition, my workplace covers the medical insurance from Raffles Hospital. I did not know time was of the essence for me till Dr Wee called me on Saturday morning to enquire of my condition and to tell me to remove the bandage as soon as possible, as my finger may lose its function if there was no blood flow for a prolonged period of time. I was then in Raffles Hospital A&E and the doctor took the bandage off to examine the injury. An X-ray was done and indeed the finger bone was crushed. A surgery
was then arranged in the morning. The hand surgeon came to assure me that it would be fine. I knew that the Lord is in control and He has enabled me to serve Him in Kemaman and He too would take care of my finger to have the surgery done.

The Lord has enabled me to almost fully recover from my finger surgery and I have since gone back to Kemaman to serve the Lord in June and August this year. There is no fear because God is in control of my life. Every time I look at and feel my finger today, I am clearly reminded of the lesson from the Lord that His grace is sufficient for me, for His strength is made perfect in my weakness. Let us trust the all-sufficient grace of our Lord Jesus Christ in whatever we face in life!

All by His grace
Elder John Leong