It is Father’s Day once again. On this day when we give thanks for fathers or father figures on earth, don’t forget to give thanks to our Father in heaven as well. If I were to name the one thing I am most thankful for in the past year, I would say without hesitation, that our Heavenly Father had prepared my son’s university tuition fees.
Before coming to the UK, we had originally set aside a sum of money for tuition fees. However, due to unavoidable circumstances, we did not have enough cash on hand, and my son had to prepare for the worst-case scenario of taking a gap year. Therefore, starting from October 2025, my son began discussing with his university the arrangement of taking a one-year placement, hoping to find an internship related to his field of study as an alternative to taking a gap year. However, despite much effort – communicating with mentors, filling in application forms, submitting CVs, and of course praying – there was still no progress.
Just as we were feeling troubled and anxious about this situation, Hong Kong happened to launch the eMPF platform at the beginning of this year. Following the instructions, I transferred my MPF account information to the new platform. Out of curiosity, I went through every function on the new platform one by one. When I saw a function called “Withdrawal of Voluntary Contributions,” I was shocked to discover that I could actually withdraw the voluntary contribution portion of my MPF account at any time. I had never known this all along, and I had to admit my ignorance.
Yet, our Heavenly Father could even use my limitations and ignorance as part of His grace. Because if I had known earlier that I could withdraw this contribution at any time, as a “control freak”, my anxious personality and my tendency to plan every detail before I can feel at ease, I would definitely have withdrawn the money before coming to the UK – even if that meant taking a loss when the stock market was down. However, because of the delay caused by my ignorance, when the stock market recovered in 2025, I moved the contribution back into a capital-preservation fund according to the advice of family and friends. Therefore, when I applied to withdraw the contribution at the beginning of this year, not only did I avoid a loss, but I even made a profit. Our Heavenly Father had already prepared everything in advance for my withdrawal this year.
When I told my son that his tuition fees had finally been sorted, he was surprised and told me that not long before that, he had prayed about his tuition fees. He prayed that if God would provide for his tuition so that he could continue his studies, he would willingly submit to God’s leading, accepting the fellowship leader’s invitation to serve on the committee in the next academic year. I was deeply moved by his experience. Our Heavenly Father answered his prayer. He clearly knows every one of our needs, and He also has the most perfect timing and plan.
This Father’s Day, may we all reflect together that our Heavenly Father not only knows our needs, but even before we are aware of them, He has already quietly prepared everything for us. He truly is a faithful and loving Father.
“Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, for ever and ever! Amen.” (Ephesians 3:20-21)
Pastor Christine Cheung