CHALLENGE TASKS
- Choose a book of the Bible and read one chapter a day.
- For the first 15 days, set aside five minutes a day to spend in quietness before God. Build it up to ten minutes for the next 15 days.
- Fast from a meal or social media for at least three days (it doesn’t have to be consecutive days!)
Challenger: Alisha Yang, 19
Fun Facts:
1. I enjoy playing Christian music on my guitar
2. I like Japanese food
3. I love watching K-dramas
FIRST THOUGHTS
Receiving this challenge was really an answer to my prayers. Juggling school and a part-time job, I often spent time with God by reading the Bible on the way to school or praying before I went to bed. Was this even right? How could I fully give my time to God when I have other responsibilities? The Holy Spirit has been reminding me to give God the best timings of my day, but waking up at 6 am to read His Word and spend more time with Him was so difficult. I felt so excited knowing that this challenge will help me have a good start to a more beautiful relationship with God.
15 Oct
Today was the first day of the challenge and I decided to wake up early to read God’s Word. I was feeling lethargic from work and, being a night owl, it’s been a long time since I’d woken up this early, but I thanked God for being able to wake up early to spend time with Him. For this challenge, I chose to read the book of Proverbs. While reading chapter one, verses 23–25 stood out to me, “turn at my rebuke; surely I will pour out my spirit on you; I will make my words known to you. Because I have called and you refused, I have stretched out my hand and no one regarded, because you disdained all my counsel, and would have none of my rebuke, […]” (NKJV). These verses are a warning against disobedience to God’s words.
Many times, God has talked to me through the Holy Spirit, dreams, people, and social media. Even though God spoke so clearly to me what He wanted me to do, I was stubborn and instead chose to follow what I wanted to hear, disobeying Him and His truth. From today’s reading, I learned to listen to God’s Word — no matter how harsh it may sound, it was still God’s Word and His truth.
16 Oct
This morning before work, I read Proverbs 2. Verses 6–7 say, “For the Lord gives wisdom; from his mouth come knowledge and understanding; he stores up sound wisdom for the upright; he is a shield to those who walk in integrity” (ESV). It’s always comforting to know that God will always be there for us and protect us. But when we face struggles, it’s important to pray to God to guard our hearts, minds, and souls so that we won’t draw away from Him.
19 Oct
I was an hour late to my class today. During the train ride to school, I read Proverbs 3:5–8: “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths. Be not wise in your own eyes; fear the Lord, and turn away from evil. It will be healing to your flesh and refreshment to your bones” (ESV). When we face struggles at work and at school, sometimes it’s truly difficult to fully give God our trust. We can end up chasing after earthly wisdom instead of the wisdom from God. I remembered that, during my secondary school days, I was too focused on my schoolwork that I had neglected the Word of God. These verses reminded me that no one else but God could give us wisdom. When we learn to see things in God’s perspective, we learn more about His love for us every day!
23 Oct
Today, I decided to fast from Instagram. Doing this made me realise how much time I’ve wasted and that I could spend this time building a much deeper relationship with Christ instead. I was reminded of 2 Peter 1:5–6: “For this very reason, make every effort to add to your faith goodness; and to goodness, knowledge; and to knowledge, self-control; and to self-control, perseverance; and to perseverance, godliness.” With so many distractions around me — Netflix, K-dramas, TikTok — I struggle a lot with self-control when it comes to entertainment. After just two hours of not using Instagram, I felt a really strong urge to just go back onto Instagram to catch up with my friends. As I prayed, I asked God to help me with my addiction to social media and instead to use my time to be with Him.
24 Oct
Today, I read Proverbs 8, and verses 32 to 36 spoke to me: “Now then, my children, listen to me; blessed are those who keep my ways. Listen to my instruction and be wise; do not disregard it. Blessed are those who listen to me, watching daily at my doors, waiting at my doorway. For those who find me find life and receive favor from the Lord. But those who fail to find me harm themselves; all who hate me love death.” Beyond just reading the Bible every day, it is important to apply His Word in our daily lives. I prayed to God that I would not lose my way and that I would meditate on His words and follow them.
26 Oct
Today, I decided to fast from Instagram again as it was the app I used the most. Since I did it last Saturday, I was confident that I would be able to go without Instagram without feeling the urge to open it. I spent my time worshipping God and also practising my guitar. This was until I saw an Instagram text from my friend. I naturally clicked on the notification and only realised my mistake when it was too late. It’s only the second time I tried to fast from Instagram and I failed, too easily. Today I read Proverbs 10: “The mouth of the righteous is a fountain of life, but the mouth of the wicked conceals violence. Hatred stirs up conflict, but love covers over all wrongs” (vv. 11–12). Reading this, I felt assured by God, that even though I felt like I had failed, His love is enough to cover all wrongs.
4 Nov
Recently, I started watching the Korean drama series Hometown Cha-Cha-Cha. Even though I promised to just watch one episode a day, I was so tempted to watch another episode every time because the start button for the next episode on Netflix would come up almost immediately. Even so, I was reminded of the need to spend more of my time with God. Today I read Proverbs 16. “Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established” (v. 3; ESV). This week, I’ve been worrying about my schoolwork as there were more assignments, projects, and exams coming up. This verse reminded me that no matter the workload, God is always more important in our lives. When we learn to commit and put our work into His hands, He can take our worries and anxieties away and help us to manage better.
7 Nov
These past few days, I realised that reading the Bible on my journey to school was very distracting; sometimes I would just be browsing through the verses without actually thinking them through. Having spent time with God early this morning, I felt the urge to spend time and worship God again at work today, and it reminded me of the importance of my heart posture. Worshipping God isn’t always just in the form of singing and music, it can also be in the way we act, the way we communicate. When we reflect God in our lives, it also shows that God is in our hearts and minds.
Last Thoughts
This challenge helped me to reset my relationship with God by spending more time in His Word and building healthy habits to continue to grow in my relationship with Him. Reading the book of Proverbs helped me to understand the importance of wisdom, and listening to and obeying God’s words. This challenge helped me to be more intentional when reading the Bible, and I found that I was more aware of what God was speaking to me. I thank God for this opportunity to be able to grow closer to Him through this challenge!
