An Entrepreneur's Journey of Faith & Obedience

Our friend, Datuk Edward Ong, chairman and founder of Sutera Harbour Resort of Sabah came to Spore 4 a short visit last wk. He's a really funny man when he talks. Back in the 1980s, he recalled how he came to know Christ while still working in his family's biz, OCK Construction Pte Ltd, a well-known & successful construction co. at that time. Before tt, he told himself that he wld never become a Christian, but a buddhist forever.

He had a lot of personal & work problems. He was so troubled that he decided to find something to read in his hotel rm on 1 of his trips overseas. The only thing he could find was a bible so he took it & randomly turned to a page - Isaiah 33. Vs 6 was the 1 tt struck him. "..the fear of the Lord is the key to this treasure." That treasure refers to a rich store of salvation & wisdom & knowledge in the preceding vs. That reading gave him unexplainable peace & tt night, he slept well.

Came back to Spore & got himself in a church & received Christ. He broke the news to his parents who vehemently objected to his new faith. He was ostracized by his parents & 5 siblings at the dinner table. So, for 3 mths, the poor guy had to sit with his maid in the kitchen to have his meals. Meanwhile, he was enjoying church & esp scripture reading. It brought him great peace, joy & guidance. But he had to break this silent treatment with his parents & so he invited them out for a 7am breakfast. He asked them, " Didnt I become a better son after I was converted?" His father said yes, coz Edward used to shout at them & his siblings before that. So peace was finally restored in the home and Edward moved back to the dining table to eat with his family :)

When Edward finally sold his biz, God led him to build a (384 acres) renowed 5-star resort out of a swamp in Sabah in 1994. He wanted God to show a sign. A bird of paradise flew into his Orchard Rd penthouse from the Bird Park. A quick check with the internet told him this bird is only found in Sabah. He caught the bird which is now back in the Bird Park.

He was preparing for semi retirement but he rose up to God's call & God opened doors for him to raise millions of dollars for his project. His was a journey of faith, a journey of brokenness, of humbling himself & believing God for the impossible. He had to go through the Asian Economic Crisis of 97 & lost $400m in 1 day. Next was Sept 11, SARS, Avian Flu & the Bali bombing. When the people asked him about the effects of H1N1 swine flu in 2009, he'll reply, "What flu?" God protected him from the global crisis as well.

Today, he employs 2,000 employees in this beautiful marina, golf & country club & 2 5-star resort hotels with 956 rooms & suites. He even dedicates 1 of the floors to church 24/7 & pays his full time intercessors. I've walked through his resort; it's beautiful and we even took his luxurious boat out to 1 of the islands for half a day of swimming, snorkelling, relaxation & eating.

Now God has given him another sign with a Word fm God to work on the East Timor lake, to build a similar resort like Sutera. This man is abt 62 yrs old but challenges in life seem to give him supernatural energy.

God has great plans for us & this plan can only become a reality if we are transformed inwardly to follow God no matter what. God will use our skills, & like Edward, God used his construction skills but the end result may not be what u think it is. He constructed 2 hotels but he never dreamed that God wld make him a hotelier. Through this, Edward has impacted the nation. He never takes credit for this awesome task, he'll say, "It's God, it's not me."

In his own words, Edward says that "Faith is the power that GOd uses to create, while fear is what the devil uses to destroy."

I am very encouraged by his life. God can do the impossible if only we trust in Him, & His Word totally. Fear then will have no place in our lives.