Dr. Tan Tek Seng

DAILY REFLECTION
7 Sept 2026

“She is clothed with strength and dignity; she can laugh at the days to come.”
‭‭Proverbs‬ ‭31‬:‭25‬ ‭

On September 5, my wife and I had the privilege of attending NASAM’s 30th Anniversary Fundraising Dinner, graciously invited by its founder, Janet Yeo.

As I watched Janet, seated in her wheelchair, speak with remarkable strength and conviction, my thoughts turned to Joni Eareckson Tada, the internationally known Christian advocate for people with disabilities. Both women remind us of Proverbs 31:25: strength and dignity are not determined by physical ability or comfortable circumstances, but by what anchors us when life becomes difficult.

Janet’s journey began with a life-changing stroke in 1989, leaving her partially paralysed and affecting her speech. What could easily have become a story of despair instead became a story of courage and purpose.

Through years of demanding rehabilitation, perseverance and God’s sustaining grace, Janet gradually rebuilt her life. But she did something more: she turned her pain into a pathway of hope for others.

In 1996, she founded NASAM to provide stroke survivors with the rehabilitation, encouragement and community she herself had desperately needed. Thirty years later, what began from one woman’s suffering has become a ministry of compassion and hope to countless others.

This teaches us an important spiritual truth: God may not always remove our difficulties, but He can give us strength to rise above them and even use our wounds to bless others.

Janet’s life reminds us that we are not defined by what happened to us, but by how, with God’s help, we respond to it.

When God clothes us with strength and dignity, we can face tomorrow with faith instead of fear, purpose instead of despair, and hope instead of defeat.

Perhaps today you are facing circumstances you never expected—a health crisis, family difficulty, financial setback, disappointment or painful loss. You may wonder, “How can I face tomorrow?”

Proverbs 31:25 gives us the answer. We face tomorrow not because we know what it holds, but because we know the God who holds tomorrow.

“When surrendered to God, even our deepest wounds can become places where His grace shines most brightly.”‬‬