Based in Cambridge.
A childhood encounter with God
Jacob was born into a Christian family in Singapore and grew up in an Orthodox Christian background. However, at the age of 13, he had an experience that he describes as a defining moment in his faith. When he attended a Billy Graham crusade and gave his life to the Lord.
There were no dramatic signs or spectacular experiences. Instead, Jacob remembers experiencing a deep sense of peace and joy and an assurance that God was in control of his life. From that point onwards, something changed in Jacob’s understanding of prayer.
“I knew that God heard my prayer. That was the difference.”
Jacob began to understand prayer was not simply as something he did, but was a large part of having a genuine relationship with God.
Discovering that God’s plan can lead us somewhere unexpected
For Jacob John, life had followed a successful and familiar path. An accountant by training, Jacob went on to establish and run a software company specialising in search engine technology.
From Singapore Jacob eventually made his life in London and built a successful career in business. He was working with a number of multinational companies during this time.
For around 20 years, the business was a major part of his life. But when the company went through a number of challenges and eventually came to an end, Jacob found himself at a crossroads.
What followed was not simply a change of career. It became a journey of discovering what it means to trust God with the future, even when the path ahead is unknown.
Having passed the age of 50, retirement seemed like a possibility. But another opportunity presented itself one that could potentially have provided a new and financially successful direction.
It was then that Jacob began to experience a much deeper challenge from God.
“Would you consider putting this on the altar?”
Jacob was exploring an opportunity in carbon monitoring, with the potential to raise substantial funding from the European Union. It looked exciting. It looked financially promising. And Jacob had planned to pursue it for around five years.
Then, one morning at around 2am, Jacob woke up and began spending time with God. He felt God asking him a question:
“Jacob, would you consider putting this on the altar?”
For Jacob, this was a profound moment. This wasn’t simply about giving up a business opportunity. He had begun to see the venture as his pension plan and his future security. Yet Jacob felt God challenging him to surrender it.
He describes the choice as a decision between continuing on a path that could bring financial success, and stepping into an unknown path that God was calling him towards.
Trusting God with the unknown
Jacob believes God was showing him that He could bless him financially if he continued along that path. But that financial success wasn’t necessarily the purpose for which God had created him. The challenge was essentially:
Will you trust Me enough to give this up and follow Me, even when you don’t know where the road leads?
Jacob chose to trust God.
It meant accepting a simpler lifestyle and letting go of some of the things that might traditionally be seen as measures of success. But in their place, Jacob discovered something he describes as far more valuable. The joy of knowing he was walking in God’s will and purpose.
“You may not have your super-duper cars and your ten-bedroom houses, but what you have is a joy you’ll never find.”
A remarkable confirmation
Jacob’s decision was followed by an experience that he describes as a powerful confirmation from God. After deciding to give up the business opportunity, Jacob told his wife that he was giving everything up. Her immediate response was understandably concerned:
“Oh no, so I’m going to have to work for the rest of my life!”
Three months later, during a church service, the pastor explained that he had felt led by God to change his sermon. The message was about people who have skills and opportunities but whom God may be challenging. Asking them to lay those things down and follow Him into an unknown future.
For Jacob and his wife, the timing was striking. They saw it as confirmation that the decision they had made was part of God’s direction for their lives.
Finding purpose through FGB
Jacob’s journey has also shaped his involvement with the Full Gospel Business Men’s Fellowship (FGB).
He believes that, as men, we are called to have an intimate relationship with God. And that FGB provides a valuable vehicle for men to explore and share that relationship together. Now serving as one of the leaders within FGB, Jacob has a particular passion for helping other men discover God’s purpose for their own lives.
He regularly prays for others and shares words of knowledge that he believes God gives him to encourage people, as they seek to understand the life God has called them to.
What is God asking you to put on the altar?
Jacob’s story raises a challenging question for all of us.
We can spend years building careers, businesses, financial security and plans for the future. These things aren’t necessarily wrong but are we willing to ask God whether our plans are His plans?
Sometimes following God doesn’t mean knowing exactly where the road leads. Sometimes it means being willing to take the first step because we trust the One who is leading us.
Jacob’s experience is a reminder that God’s purpose may not always look like the path we had planned for ourselves. And sometimes, the greatest step of faith is simply being willing to say:
“Lord, I don’t know where this path leads, but I trust You enough to follow.”