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Thank you in advance, and God bless.
"Why does God let these things happen to me?" This question is usually asked by
an individual every time a trial comes into his/her life. "I know I've been doing
well in my Christian life.... I am a good servant.... I treat people fairly and with
respect.... I am committed to my Church responsibilities, and yet, why do these hard
trials still continue coming into my life?"
Don't be discouraged and don't blame yourself for asking these questions.
Actually, God is waiting for you to ask Him, and He finds these as good questions.
Why? Because He knows that you are His good and faithful servant, and that you
will seek His answer. Seeking for answers will help you to be closer and develop a
deeper relationship with Him.
I have experienced a lot of trials in my life. I almost had a broken marriage
(yes, it's not only you who experienced hardship in your relationship with your
spouse). I’ve spent sleepless nights thinking about the stubbornness of my
children and kept on asking myself what else “I" can do to make them good.
Financial difficulties have hindered me from focusing my mind in prayers. I've
wasted so many tears for being treated unfairly by my supervisor. I’ve experienced
left and right persecutions (I felt that people were making fun of me) but I did
not fight back because I wanted to do God’s will in my life. I felt ignored and
abandoned by my friends whom I loved and trusted.
Why did God let these things happen to me? Did I deserve these? The more
questions I asked God, the more deeply I got connected with Him. As I connected
the dots of my life, finally, I understood His answer to me: He wants me to
be strong and to be a blessing to other people. How? I cannot be a
material blessing to them, because I honestly know that I do not have enough
resources. Also, I'm so ashamed to speak in front of people and I don't even know
how to start a conversation, so how can I be a blessing to them without giving them
encouraging speeches?
Do you know what God told me? "Yes, my child, you are already a blessing to
them. Every time you share even the smallest amount from your pocket to help
people in need, they will thank Me for having you in their life and
they become closer to Me because you let them realize that I love
them. Every time you have a discussion and disagreement with your husband and you
cry out to Me so that you may understand each other, you are a
blessing to him, because you remind him of the importance of your relationship
which I have blessed in your marriage. Every time you struggle on how to raise
your children but you do not stop praying for them, you are a blessing to them,
because they feel loved and you inspire them to study hard and live according to
My will. Every time you do not fight back in spite of the
persecutions, you are a blessing to them because you let them see Jesus in you.
Every time you swallow your pride and humble yourself even when you know that you
have not done anything wrong, you are a blessing to them for you give them peace
and remind them that there's nothing in life that can replace the joy coming from
God’s forgiveness.”
What is God’s message to me? With all the experiences that I’ve had, I found
two common denominators that give joy and peace into my life:
LOVE and HUMILITY.
As my relationship with God went deeper and deeper, I learned to minimize the
use of "I" in my life (e.g. what can "I" do; what should "I" say; where should "I"
go). I realized that I need God to work in me as I cannot do it on my own. Through
God's wisdom, I started to ask these questions: “What does God want me to do? What
is God's plan for me to make these things happen? Which way does God want me to
go?”
My brothers and sisters let us ask ourselves, “Does God want us to suffer?” Of
course not. He just wants to know how faithful we are to Him. Neither does He want
us to worry, to pity ourselves, to hate our brothers, to fight back and be
vengeful, nor to follow the wrongdoings of other people. All He wants for us to do
is to love as He loves us, to forgive as He has forgiven us, to be humble as He
humbled Himself, to trust Him so that He can work on our lives, and to be faithful
to Him, because He is our God and our Saviour.
I always use the following phrase, which I learned from a sermon by Father Paul
Chu (Canadian Martyrs Parish priest): "How do you know if this is a blessing from
God? It's a blessing from God if it involves sacrifice." These are very simple
words, but very inspiring. These words have become one of my weapons every time
God sends me to encourage people. Don't be discouraged but feel blessed every day
of your life, learn to stand whenever you fall because it will make you stronger,
but most especially, be a blessing to others.
May God Bless Us All!
