Introduction: He said with thanksgiving, “I used to be arrogant and received little blessing. In these 10 years, I humbled myself and submitted to God. Thus, the Lord blessed me greatly. He poured out so much blessing that there was not enough room to store it. By God’s grace, I succeeded.”

Today’s episode is based on the interview article ‘Succeed by God’s grace’ from Singapore’s ‘Heartbeat’ newsletter.

Robert Lim is one of the recipients of the Asia Pacific Enterprise Awards and his company has received the prestigious ‘Singapore Enterprise 50 Award’ for 4 years consecutively. However, behind the limelight, he experienced much turmoil. So how did an impoverished student succeed in entrepreneurship and progress towards the proclamation of God’s love on the business stage?

Robert Lim was born in Malaysia. His father was the manager of a shoe production factory while his mother was a housewife. The family of seven depended on his father’s meagre salary to make ends meet. When he was 19 years old, he studied at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore where his uncle paid half of his fees.

After graduation, Robert Lim worked in the electronic manufacturing sector for 5 years. Then, he became an entrepreneur. Having experienced poverty since young, he hoped to break free from it when he was 27 years old. Thus, he decided to take up the challenges of entrepreneurship for 3 years and learn from the school of life.

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In 1993, Robert invested S$10,000 of his savings in a 15 square metre office. He established Wiselink Technology Company and started his business in electronic components. It had a humble beginning, for there were only 3 people in the company. Yet, the Lord watched over this company. Soon, his work experience and networking enabled him to receive the first order. From then on, he embarked on his career in the electronics business, and overcame the difficulties of starting his business from scratch. His Wiselink business grew gradually. In 1995, he and his wife, Li Liang Yi, had a baby girl. This young couple was delighted in the arrival of this new life.

However, a week after the child was born, the company met with a crisis. It was a bolt from the blue. A large American supplier, which had once received the ‘Best Asian Agency Award’, terminated the agency’s right and would no longer supply any goods after 30 days. Robert was stunned when he heard about it. At that time, 95% of his business profits were from the sales of agency products from this large supplier. After losing this contact, it was like cutting off the lifeline of Wiselink. The company was on the verge of collapse.

He thought of committing suicide because of the harsh realities.

During this period of time, Robert Lim continuously listened to a praise song at home and in his car. It was taken from Psalm 121:1 , ‘I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the LORD, who made heaven and earth.’ He teared up while listening to it. The Word of God healed him. At the same time, the birth of a new life gave him hope and strength to stand through the darkest valley. As a father, he sensed the responsibilities and challenges ahead of him. He muttered to himself: “I will not continue to be weak and disheartened. I need to adjust my goal and set off once again.” During the second week, he decided to find new opportunities overseas thus leaving his baby daughter and his wife reluctantly. His daughter had not even reached a month old and his wife was still in confinement. Thankfully, by God’s leading and protection, the business of Wiselink Technology Company was gradually restored.

Miraculous healing

Robert Lim was a third generation Christian in his family. He attended church with his mother when he was five years old. If he did not go to Sunday School, his mother would mete out corporal punishment on him. However, he was a ‘Sunday Christian’ for many years, and only prayed occasionally. One day in 2004, he saw that the Bible at home was covered with a layer of dust. It was a gift from his brother long ago. He only read half of the New Testament as he felt that the Bible was boring and difficult to read. Thus, he discarded the Bible that he hadn’t read for 10 years.

In the following week, the church pastor was preaching on ‘Investing in eternity’. His heart was deeply moved by it. As a businessman, he was very sensitive to the word ‘investment’. He began to seriously contemplate: What was worth an investment for eternity?

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In 2005, he experienced a miracle. Since birth, he was a hepatitis B carrier and had S-Antigens and E-Antigens. It was hereditary. The risk factor for E-Antigens was 10 times that of S-Antigens. The doctor said that there was currently no cure for it.

At a healing conference, a pastor laid his hand on Robert Lim and prayed for healing. Three weeks later, when he went for his blood test, the E-Antigen in his blood was gone! He was surprised and asked God: “Why did You heal me of E-Antigens but not S-Antigens?” A month later, he was enlightened by these words of God in the Bible: ‘My grace is sufficient for you’. He was no longer troubled by it and believed that he was healed.

‘How amazing is Your grace that You care for me. How amazing is Your grace that You shed Your precious blood for me.’  Robert Lim felt an inexplicable force drawing him towards God in the midst of church worship. He was so touched that he cried. The Lord wanted him to share this , but he didn’t surrender to God. For 9 consecutive nights, he couldn’t sleep. The scene of how God had led him through the mountains and valleys all these years constantly flashed in his mind. On the ninth night, he knelt down in prayer to God: “Lord, I am willing to surrender to Your will! I will testify for You!” After he had prayed, he slept immediately.

In Proverbs 9:10, it is written ‘The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom,
and the knowledge of the Holy One is insight.’ Through this experience, Robert Lim felt deeply what it was to fear the Lord and to surrender to Him. He realised that the Word of God was ‘the spiritual food’ daily. After that, he scheduled a golden hour in the morning to read the Bible every day. At night, he had quiet time for two hours, including reading the Bible and prayer. In this way, his life was renewed, and he had a breakthrough.

Biblical Principles, the solid foundation for entrepreneurship

As an entrepreneur, Robert Lim believed that the goal for business was to have integrity. He frequently reminded himself of the Word of God such as Proverbs 20:10: Unequal weights and unequal measures are both alike an abomination to the LORD, Proverbs 12: 22: Lying lips are an abomination to the LORD, but those who act faithfully are his delight and Proverbs 13:4: The soul of the sluggard craves and gets nothing, while the soul of the diligent is richly supplied.

Even though there were discrepancies between the Word of God and the philosophies of running a business, Robert Lim believed that he should build his business on biblical principles, the solid foundation for entrepreneurship. We should be honest and strive hard to do business diligently. This enables us to have a lighter load along the path of blessing.

He also believed that the most important thing was to have a clear goal in business and run towards it. We should be diligent and not lazy. The biblical principle is that we must be willing to walk an extra mile compared to others. Entrepreneurs are leaders and servants of God, too. Entrepreneurs have to lead a team to work in unity and must also be humble to listen to the opinions of others.

Couple in unity, Messengers of love

One day in March 2005, Robert Lim read Malachi 3:8: ‘Will man rob God? Yet you are robbing me. But you say, “How have we robbed you?” In your tithes and contributions.’ In verse 10, he read, ‘Bring the full tithe into the storehouse, that there may be food in my house. And thereby put me to the test, says the LORD of hosts, if I will not open the windows of heaven for you and pour down for you a blessing until there is no more need.’

Through these verses, he started to reflect on his negligence in tithing. After 3 days, he and his wife contributed a sum of money for a whole year of tithing to the church.

Apart from tithing, he was determined to share God’s love. Once, he prayed for a Malaysian colleague’s health. After his colleague’s recovery, he attended church with Robert Lim. Thereafter, his entire family believed in Jesus Christ. Such delight was sweeter than earning a million dollars.

（picture from the Internet）

From courtship to marriage, the Lord was the peacemaker in this couple’s relationship. After many years of entrepreneurship, his wife started to work in the company and was his good help mate.

A large painting with the words ‘Glory be to the Lord’ was hung on Robert Lim’s office wall. The 12 doves in the painting soaring freely in nature symbolised holiness and peace. In addition, the verses in Psalm 23 from the Bible were hung on his wife’s office wall: The LORD is my shepherd; I shall not want. He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness for his name’s sake.

Presently, they are office colleagues and partners in proclaiming God’s love on the business stage. Robert Lim shared his life story while his wife translated it.

They supported churches in Singapore and Malaysia financially. They also took the initiative to contact Bible Colleges and sponsored the fees of theological students. He not only cared about their learning, but also the renewal and growth of their spiritual lives. For example, on the first day of Bible College, he sat quietly at the back of the classroom and listened. At other times, he joined their training courses. He cheered them on and encouraged them. During the graduation ceremony, he and his wife turned up to bless the theological students.

He said with thanksgiving, “I used to be arrogant and received little blessing. In these 10 years, I humbled myself and submitted to God. Thus, the Lord blessed me greatly. He poured out so much blessing that there was not enough room to store it. By God’s grace, I succeeded. His grace is a gift to us!”

I hope you found Robert Lim’s story encouraging, and I invite you to join me again for the next episode of “Workplace Strategy!”

Source: Singapore ‘Heartbeat’ newsletter. 13th issue. Edited content.

Critical Thinking Question:

1. What was worth an investment for eternity?

2. What do you think you should do so that you would be able to submit to God?

3.What inspiration do you think you get from this story?