Wednesday, September 01, 2010

God's Promised 'Land' to us

I've been told to not "simply use the term Promised Land". Let me explain...

"Even the sparrow has found a home, and the swallow a nest for herself, where she may have her young - a place near your altar, O LORD Almighty, my King and my God. -Psalm 84:3"

This is the promise God gave to me as we pondered about the place we came to purchase.

It all started when my brother offered my dad a job here in KL. Following the move to KL, the apartment in Penang is now up for sale. So the most logical course of action was for my parents to buy another apartment here in KL, preferably near to where we currently reside.

But property prices in this area is sky-rocketing and the nearest they can afford is around Old Klang Road. I brought my mum along to view 2 properties there. Though it is so near, it took us an hour to get there and my mum said, "No Way!" She wouldn't know how to get back to my place.

So one Friday, I was just browsing the ads in TheStar newspaper and 2 ads caught my attention. Both were for apartments over 2000sf in Petaling Jaya. I don't quite know why but I was prompted to sms my enquiry. The first ad yielded no response.

But the agent for the other ad called me back almost immediately. So I made an appointment to view the place the very next day, after our Saturday evening Celebration.

Saturday evening came and it was pouring cats and dogs! When we arrived at the place, we bumped into a common friend from church who also knows the agent, and that was how we came to know that the agent is also ex-DUMC. Somehow that put my heart at peace.

The agent brought us to view 2 units, one on a lower floor and the other much higher up. We took an instant liking to the higher floor, but dared not commit. The price for the unit on the higher floor was RM70K more than the lower one. So after viewing, I told the agent to give us a few days to think, and we would get back to her. By then the rain had stopped. But as I got into the car, there was a streak of lightning followed by a loud boom of thunder, as if God was telling us to "BUY!". My mum felt the same prompting but we still wanted to wait for confirmation.


On Sunday evening, the agent called me. I was surprised because I had told her I would get back to her. She asked what I thought and I told her that we liked the unit on the higher floor. She then told us that there was actually some leaking in the back room (which we did not see because the light was out of order). She advised us to arrange a second viewing in broad daylight.

In the mean time, we made some financial calculations. The downpayment for the property would amount to RMXXK and I realized then that this was the exact amount that we had reserved.

On top of that, we would need about RMYYK for legal fees and stamp duty - and we were not sure where this would come from.

Monday morning - we dropped by EPF to check my account 2 balance, before going to view the unit again. God surprised me - there was exactly RMYYK plus about another RM50 in my account 2. His providence amazes and assures me everytime!

So we viewed the unit again and told the vendor that we would like to view again, after the repairs were completed, before we committed to purchase.

Tuesday night - we went to church for PrayerMeeting and Pastor Jin Leong led us to read Psalm 84. Verse 3 almost jumped out at me. This place that we viewed is nearer to church than our current place. And we have been planning for more children.

After these events - there was 'silence' for almost 3 months, during which our patience and faith was put to the test. The vendor took ages to get the leak repaired. The agent also told us that she suspects the vendor was trying to sell it off as it was, without having to repair it. I must confess that at times, I was worried if the place would not be ours. But each time I passed it, I prayed and claimed God's promise to me.

In April, the agent called and told us that the repairs were finally done. We viewed it and offered a price of RM20K below the vendor's asking price. The vendor agreed immediately and there was no need to even bargain! Praise the Lord! Not only did he keep the place for us, but I now have an extra RM20K for renovations!

When God blesses, he blesses abundantly! He opens the floodgates of Heaven and just pours out all His blessings!


The first part of God's promise is taking shape now. We hope to move in by year-end. As for the second part of the promise, nothing has happened yet. But we continue to trust that God will bring it to past. He is a faithful God and I can trust Him.

Coz though I don't know what tomorrow holds, I know who holds tomorrow!

21 comments:

  1. where is this place? nearer to your church.... means it is around Section 13/14?
    guess the properties around there are not cheap, even for non-landed. looking forward to visit your new home! :)

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  2. for privacy and security, I cannot say exactly where.
    let's just say we got a very good deal. good price, great condition, even better location.

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  3. for privacy and security, I cannot say exactly where.
    let's just say we got a very good deal. good price, great condition, even better location.

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  4. what a wonderful testimony to God's providence! praise God!
    Your sharing came as a reminder for me that when God blesses, He blesses abundantly and to remind me to patiently wait for His leading & timing!

    yeay! cant wait to visit you at your new home... :)

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  5. like your last phrase. Glad you got the place cheaper, hope your transition is smooth, and enjoy the reno process.

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  6. Is your new place located at the place where Santhi, Ben and I used to stay?

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  7. weelyn - next time you come, I'll be able to accommodate you&family. en-suite bathroom some more!

    eileen - no no.

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  8. for a 200sf unit, it's quite huge :) Joe & Joy can run around.
    now, renovation is the headache part. are you selling off current one?

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  9. I notice you tend to read scripture/psalm literally. The bible contains much metaphorical (symbolic) language to communicate the word of God so it may still be relevant/meaningful to present day context and circumstance. Like parables, metaphors should be interpreted.

    Then again, this is only my humble opinion. Admittedly, I'm no expert.
    -verbose anon-

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  10. Indeed, you are no expert.

    the Word of God IS relevant...yesterday, today, tomorrow and forevermore.

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  11. yenmei - it's not 200sf.
    It's 2500sf! 4bedrooms, 5 bathrooms.
    Not quite decided what we'll do with the current place.

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  12. good sharing - can submit to church newsletter? :)

    your purchase of the larger place gave me a nudge in the same direction. got us thinking seriously about getting a bigger space.

    oh... and if you can afford to keep the current place, hold on to it for investment. if you choose to let go, i am sure it can fetch a good price as there are ready buyers.

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  13. That last line are the words of a song, one of my favourites, "I know who holds tomorrow." Just google for it. Many have sung that song but my favourite singer is Slim Whitman (he yodels).

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  14. We all use Scripture in different ways to guide us. Just make sure we don't impose/insist our way/views upon others.

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  15. sori, typo :p >2000sf is huge for a condo :)
    let me know if you plan to sell the current one.

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  16. Pris, can pass the agent's contact to me? Was thinking of introducing to my sis. Her search has been quite futile and she's been meeting "crappy" agents...sigh...

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  17. Hello pa, as clearly said, it's just an opinion, or a different view. Good to share views, no? Be not afraid, absolutely not imposing or insisting.

    buffafly, never said it was irrelevant anytime. but oh, never mind, comment section not suitable for proper discussion.

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  18. Anonymous - you said "it may still be relevant/meaningful to present day context and circumstance".

    MAY. Implies probability.

    I'm telling you it IS relevant.

    IS. Definitely, absolutely relevant.

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  19. Anonymous, When I made the comment about "imposing" "insisting" it wasn't directed at you, it was directed at my daughter. (I identified myself as "Pa") Only at my daughter will I make that comment. Personally I think you give some very great comments and they are much appreciated. It is good that you are regular and commenting. What is the use of a blog if nobody view it and comment. So keep those comments coming. Sorry, I sound like this is my blog. Sorry, La.

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  20. buffafly,
    Again there are different ways to read a verb. Besides probability", 'may' can be also defined as:
    a) be permitted, be allowed
    b) be capable of, is permissible, is able to

    ... there are probably other uses for 'may' I don't know of. So why limit yourself to only one and the narrowest definition?


    Pa, apologies for my very erroneous assumption. Kudos for your open-mindedness and generosity of spirit. Cheers to you, and god bless.

    -verbose anon-

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  21. oh whatever. I'm not interested in debating with you.

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