Suffering and Solace
Life is hard. There is no
denying that and in our difficulties, we will often find that our minds
wander and questions arise; especially, questions regarding the
existence of God. Amazingly, this a is question that is common among
people, even those who truly believe. What I mean by this is that no one
can truly believe in God, unless as some point or another they
questioned whether he existed or not and put their logic to the test,
but I can without a doubt tell you that He is real.
Being that God is real, and He created us, we must always strive to be pleasing to Him in all thoughts, words and actions. Yet, the question of our human suffering may then rear its ugly head and say: "why must I be unhappy? Why does God permit me to suffer?" Yet, the great answers to these questions is that it is part of our fallen nature. It was the decision of our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, and their disobedience which allowed us to enter state where suffering is permitted; however, the suffering of our human life is not without its merits and sanctification, and we must never neglect the role we ourselves have played in our sufferings.
It will quite often be apparent that we do not always get what we want, but the greater thought behind this should not be that God is not fair, He does not love me; rather, is what I asked for or desired really for the best of my soul and my edification? What else should be thought of is have I myself played any role in the failure or loss in something that truly was to my benefit? Did I commit acts which caused that which I desired to become out of reach? Did I acknowledge my conscience, that inner voice which deep down told me not to do the things that I did? Everything that happens should not be necessarily blamed on God or Satan for that matter, but we must carefully discern our decisions and our free will, which God has given all people who are able to utilize their reason. The ability to choose right and wrong.
It will often be found that when we transgress God's moral law that there will indeed be negative consequences, though sometimes not immediately foreseen. However, in time, the sacrifice of our eternal and spiritual good for temporal gratification will be met with sadness and regret. This is natural consequence of things. This, again, was evident from the example of our first parents in the Garden of Eden.
Looking at death, it is very easy to blame God for the decisions of others who have taken the life of a loved one or the sudden demise of those whom we hold dear, but in such situations it must be remembered that our lives were never our own; rather, they were created by God to love and serve Him. Therefore, he can reclaim and call to him any of us who he feels fit to at any time, for the Lord has told us that He will come like a thief in the night. Essentially, we will never know when he will come to us and bid us return to Him. As a result, we should lead each moment of our lives like it is our last so that if called we will be prepared to meet our maker. This, of course, goes back to the original statement of this entry which is we should consecrate to God every thought, word and deed. If all actions are consecrated to God and directed to Him, then we will do His will and love and serve Him with all our heart and soul. We will be ready for Christ's call or return.
The thing to reflect upon when reading this is not whether God has done you wrong by not giving you what you desire, or allowing those around you die, but what is the order of the universe. Our decisions in most situations bring us the unhappiness we receive. We put temporal things, material things before our loved ones and before our God. We allow money to be idolized as if it were a deity and do all things to acquire more of it, failing to realize that one can never have enough. This is why we should take the example of our Lord in the Garden of Olives and His humble submission to the will of His Father. We should seek to please God. We should also look at His nativity and divine life and see that it was lived simply and always focused on the will of His father. We are called to look to God in all things and to keep our life focused upon Him at all time. All that pulls our thought and will away from God is a distraction and all distractions should be cast away.
We should let our lives be perpetually focused on Christ. Our duties to our family, friends, society, etc. if done in Christ become acts of love and prayer and in this respect our crosses and burdens become light. We will embrace all tasks with love and in Christ's spirit be sanctified and bring that spirit out to the world. Even when confronted with death, be it a loved ones or our own, there will not be fear or anger but joy and hope, for we would hope to return to our Maker and behold Him at the right hand of the Father, and in our loved ones and friends, we shall know that they will be in God's loving embrace and that their journey to happiness has finally been fulfilled.
Let all things be centered on Christ and Christ will be in the center of our hearts and we will be at peace.
Being that God is real, and He created us, we must always strive to be pleasing to Him in all thoughts, words and actions. Yet, the question of our human suffering may then rear its ugly head and say: "why must I be unhappy? Why does God permit me to suffer?" Yet, the great answers to these questions is that it is part of our fallen nature. It was the decision of our first ancestors, Adam and Eve, and their disobedience which allowed us to enter state where suffering is permitted; however, the suffering of our human life is not without its merits and sanctification, and we must never neglect the role we ourselves have played in our sufferings.
It will quite often be apparent that we do not always get what we want, but the greater thought behind this should not be that God is not fair, He does not love me; rather, is what I asked for or desired really for the best of my soul and my edification? What else should be thought of is have I myself played any role in the failure or loss in something that truly was to my benefit? Did I commit acts which caused that which I desired to become out of reach? Did I acknowledge my conscience, that inner voice which deep down told me not to do the things that I did? Everything that happens should not be necessarily blamed on God or Satan for that matter, but we must carefully discern our decisions and our free will, which God has given all people who are able to utilize their reason. The ability to choose right and wrong.
It will often be found that when we transgress God's moral law that there will indeed be negative consequences, though sometimes not immediately foreseen. However, in time, the sacrifice of our eternal and spiritual good for temporal gratification will be met with sadness and regret. This is natural consequence of things. This, again, was evident from the example of our first parents in the Garden of Eden.
Looking at death, it is very easy to blame God for the decisions of others who have taken the life of a loved one or the sudden demise of those whom we hold dear, but in such situations it must be remembered that our lives were never our own; rather, they were created by God to love and serve Him. Therefore, he can reclaim and call to him any of us who he feels fit to at any time, for the Lord has told us that He will come like a thief in the night. Essentially, we will never know when he will come to us and bid us return to Him. As a result, we should lead each moment of our lives like it is our last so that if called we will be prepared to meet our maker. This, of course, goes back to the original statement of this entry which is we should consecrate to God every thought, word and deed. If all actions are consecrated to God and directed to Him, then we will do His will and love and serve Him with all our heart and soul. We will be ready for Christ's call or return.
The thing to reflect upon when reading this is not whether God has done you wrong by not giving you what you desire, or allowing those around you die, but what is the order of the universe. Our decisions in most situations bring us the unhappiness we receive. We put temporal things, material things before our loved ones and before our God. We allow money to be idolized as if it were a deity and do all things to acquire more of it, failing to realize that one can never have enough. This is why we should take the example of our Lord in the Garden of Olives and His humble submission to the will of His Father. We should seek to please God. We should also look at His nativity and divine life and see that it was lived simply and always focused on the will of His father. We are called to look to God in all things and to keep our life focused upon Him at all time. All that pulls our thought and will away from God is a distraction and all distractions should be cast away.
We should let our lives be perpetually focused on Christ. Our duties to our family, friends, society, etc. if done in Christ become acts of love and prayer and in this respect our crosses and burdens become light. We will embrace all tasks with love and in Christ's spirit be sanctified and bring that spirit out to the world. Even when confronted with death, be it a loved ones or our own, there will not be fear or anger but joy and hope, for we would hope to return to our Maker and behold Him at the right hand of the Father, and in our loved ones and friends, we shall know that they will be in God's loving embrace and that their journey to happiness has finally been fulfilled.
Let all things be centered on Christ and Christ will be in the center of our hearts and we will be at peace.
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