TO FILL A LITTLE SPACE

Don’t count your miseries; there will always be plenty of them in your life. Instead, concentrate on your blessings and name them one by one. You shall also encounter plenty of them along your pathways if you are truly attentive.

People tend to believe that they are entitled to far more than their portion turns out to be. Some believe the world owes them a living, or that the government is responsible for all their needs. The truth is that even God does not owe us anything!

Nevertheless, God is mindful of what one truly needs and somehow He provides all that in sufficient measure. That’s what the word “grace� truly means: an undeserved favour from the Almighty! And with that grace, He surrounds His human creatures every moment of every day, even when they do not deserve it!

Just think of the air we breathe, the water we drink, the food we eat. Even the very fact that we are alive and can contemplate sunrises and sunsets, besides countless more privileges which earthly life affords, is of His grace. We may not have all our whims and wishes satisfied but, surely, our needs can be and frequently are met!

It is much easier to notice what we lack than to recognize what we actually possess. It is common to pay attention to what we lose than to acknowledge what we still have. A famous public figure I know reported how, during his college days, he was at his parents’ farm home at the time a major tornado devastated their property. After the fury of the wind, which killed many farm animals and destroyed their crops and barn, the farmer proceeded to envision all the steps to be taken for the necessary reconstruction. Seeking to comfort his wife in the face of total loss and devastation, he calmly dried her tears while offering the recommendation: “Think not of what we have lost; think instead of what we have left!�

Such was and remains the best, most positive posture in the midst of distress and struggles which earthly life often inflicts on anyone. Gratefulness in the midst of trials, hope in the face of danger, decisiveness in the place of doubt, are the best choices one can make to ensure a safe arrival at the new place or situation one needs to journey into. As my long-time friend, Dr. James R. Kok, so wisely observed: “The road to joy always seems to go through sadness and suffering. It’s hard to get there any other way.� But it still leads one to the right haven.

It’s imperative for one to understand that the journey into contentment and tranquillity is never devoid of bumps and potholes; it often faces detours, low valleys, besides high peaks one needs to hike. It’s seldom reached any other way.

And yet, “when other helpers fail and comforts flee� God Who is the Help of the helpless does abide with those who seek His presence and continued guidance.

Ultimately it is only by relying in Him alone that anyone gets anywhere in life and, most especially, in the place reserved for those who embraced Him Who is “the way, the truth and the life� even Jesus Christ, the Saviour of humanity!

This entry was posted on Sunday, October 15th, 2006 at 1:34 pm and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.