By Fr. Roy Cimagala
WE cannot deny that in our life there will be unavoidable occasions when despite our pure intentions and best efforts, we would just find ourselves in situations of disadvantage and misfortune. We should not be surprised by this fact of life. But what we should do is to convert these moments into something that will do us a lot of good.
The secret, of course, is to refer everything to God. That is when we turn to reality what St. Paul once said: “We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” (Rom 8,28)
We should just adapt the attitude of Job who, when heavily tested by God himself to see if his faith in God was truly strong, simply said: “Shall we accept good from God, and shall we not accept evil?” (Job 2,10)
Let’s always remember that it is God who defines and knows what is good and what is evil. It is also he who knows what to do with them. Thus, if we are with him both in good times and in bad, we somehow also would know what to do with them.
When we are with God, the good times definitely will make us ever thankful to him and prod us to make use of what good thing we have to grow in our love for him and for everybody else. We would be protected from the danger of falling into pride and vanity.
And also, when we are with him during our bad times, we still would manage to be thankful to him, knowing that whatever negative occurrences appear in our life, we actually would have the golden opportunity to grow in our love for him, in the many virtues that little by little make us resemble God as we should, since we are meant to be his image and likeness.
We need to trust in God’s providence and mercy. We have to learn to live a spirit of abandonment in the hands of God. Yes, if we have faith in God, in his wisdom and mercy, in his unfailing love for us, we know that everything will always work out for the good. If we are with God, we can always dominate whatever suffering can come our way in the same manner that Christ absorbed all his passion and death on the cross.
Let’s always remember that God, in his ineffable ways, can also talk to us through these crosses. In fact, he can convey precious messages and lessons through them. It would be good that we have a theological attitude toward them, and be wary of our tendency to react to them in a purely human way, based only on our senses and feelings and on worldly standards.
We have to be quick to discern what God is telling us through them. Let’s be quick to see in these problems golden opportunities to receive more graces and other blessings from God. These graces and blessings can deepen our love for God and neighbor, enrich our understanding of things, occasion the birth and development of virtues. They can truly do us a lot of good.
Thus, people who know how to suffer, bearing their suffering with Christ, are effective in conveying to us sublime and divine messages. They are the most credible people who can surprise us with their deep insights and understanding of our life and the world in general.
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