Jeremy Tan, composer and lyricist of Good Father, shares how this song in Trinity’s Pressing Onward Album was birthed.
In 2019, my wife Michelle and I moved to Hong Kong with our two-year-old daughter Kayla with great excitement. But shortly after, we encountered challenges one after another. The protests against Hong Kong’s anti-extradition amendment bill turned violent. The violence soon reached our neighborhood, with protesters smashing our breakfast haunts and planting firebombs at the subway stations. We lived in fear and anxiety every day.
Amid the chaos, I was at work one day when I
received a call that Michelle had a serious health issue requiring immediate medical care. We decided to return to Singapore immediately. Michelle had to be hospitalized upon our return, leaving Kayla in my parents’ care. However, I could not leave my job in Hong Kong, and had to shuttle between Hong Kong and Singapore every fortnight.
I was furious with God. Why was this happening? If God is indeed good and all-knowing, He would know that the protests would happen and the stress it would cause Michelle. Why did He bring us to Hong Kong in the first place, only to separate us now? Why did He not pave the way for my company to transfer me back to Singapore to be with my family?
Alone in Hong Kong, the confusion and fear became palpable. It felt like I was under spiritual oppression. Afraid to go to sleep, I kept the lights on and played music throughout the night. When I finally slept, I would be jolted awake by anxiety and break out in cold sweat.
The expenses of flying back and forth every fortnight were mounting. To add to our worries, the insurance claim for my wife’s hospital expenses was delayed. Anxious about our finances and future, I found myself deliberating over the cost of even a simple bento dinner. I was exhausted and missed my family.
One night, God showed me a vision. I was in a boxing ring, facing my oppressor and fighting with all my might. God told me: “Turn and face Me.”
I thought, “How could I? If I put my hands down and turn away from the enemy, the enemy will bring me down!”
But God said: “The enemy will see ME. I am far bigger than you. I am your Defender.”
When I awoke, I realized that I needed to rely on God. Only then would my strength be limitless. I was drained because I had been striving on my own strength.
God assured me He would restore everything that I had lost – my family, my wife’s health, and our finances. Like Sarai in Genesis 18, I laughed at the impossibility, but God said, “I heard you, and I will show you.”
I started to see the fulfillment of God’s promises. Michelle’s insurance claim was finally approved after almost six months. In fact, she received an additional pay-out which covered all my flights between Singapore and Hong Kong, and we even had a surplus!
As I continued to reflect on my life, I realized that God had brought me to Hong Kong for a reason. I was stripped of all my titles in Singapore, as a Section Leader and a DEW Worker at Trinity. I have been a Trinitarian for 23 years and while I had Christian head knowledge, I had forgotten my identity as a son of the Most High.
God had indeed allowed me to undergo a challenging season in Hong Kong, but it was not to destroy me. He wanted to refine me, in preparation for my family’s season ahead.
One morning, while I was in Hong Kong alone, in a half-awake state, I started to write down all that God had been teaching me. The melody and lyrics of Good Father soon flowed, and my wife helped to refine the song. She is the musical person in the family and serves as a keyboardist in Creative Ministry. That’s how Good Father came into being.
Two years on, having gone through this dark season of learning to trust God, my wife and I were able to take the leap of faith to quit our steady jobs in Singapore to migrate to Melbourne in October amid this pandemic. We are trusting in our Provider as we help to build and establish Trinity@Melbourne in this Decade of Expansion.
As we move to Melbourne, this song will be our constant reminder of how our good Father came through in the impossibilities of our situation and restored everything because of His love for us. He is our good Father, Provider, Healer and Savior.
Good Father
My good Father and friend
My whole life’s in your hands
Your mercies are new
Your Promises sure
When I can’t see your hands
I’ll trust your heart
Chorus:
You are my Father, Provider
You are my Healer, my Savior
Defender behind me
The Lord before me
All my world is in Your hands
My good Savior and Lord
All my dreams are now Yours
You love me more
Than I’d ever know
For all of my days
I’ll trust your heart
Bridge:
You are my faithful Father I will wait on You
In all things You work for my good
I will choose to trust in You
Have a listen to Good Father on Trinity's latest worship album "Pressing Onward," available on all major music platforms.
We are always delighted to receive testimonies. Give God the glory and write to testimonies@trinity.sg to celebrate what God has done in your life.
Reflect & Respond
Which area of your life is God asking you to rely on Him?
What can you give thanks to Him for?
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