I was saddened by the news that one of our sisters in community had some recurrence of her bouts with cancer. Even more on hearing that one faithful brother has trouble with his kidneys and spine and that some children of community succumbed to dengue. One after the other, news about serious illnesses affecting our men and women in community have gradually dampened my spirit.
Diseases are just one of the many adversities that beset our times. Still there are many more countless problems and concerns that our individual brothers and sisters are facing day by day. They may have something to do with finances, jobs, relationships, families, projects, etc., each in varying degrees. Hurdling them is surely and unmistakably difficult and can be that exacting.
I realized that when we are unprepared to handle adversities, they can just put us off-guard, overwhelm us and eventually lead us into trouble. That is why there is a need for us to ascertain from the scriptures how to deal with them and learn the principles that are involved in facing them. The list I’ve prepared is not exclusive nor exhaustive, but still I’d like to mention some of these principles here.
Don’t worry. The first reaction that normally comes from learning a bad news is to worry. Worrying can be disastrous especially if it leads one to panic. We lose control of our thinking and can easily become unreasonable. When this happens, we can’t objectively confront the problem or get to address them and find the appropriate solution.. We need to realize that worrying can’t help us at all. Jesus himself said: “Can any of you by worrying add a single moment to your life-span? Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.” (Mt. 6:27, 34)
Be confident. Our confidence is not in ourselves. It comes from the Lord who is in control of everything. In His omnipotence, God has a specific purpose for every adversity that comes our way. St. Paul says, “we know that all things work for good for those who love God, who are called according to his purposes.” (Rom.8:28) We may not able to know such purpose right then and there but it surely has. It is good to assure ourselves that no matter how enormous the adversity is, the Lord is always in control and that we only have to trust Him and be confident that He will surely get us off from it in His own time and grace.
Learn to accept. There is always a tendency for us to resist adversities. We can’t seem to accept that a serious illness, broken relationship, financial troubles, and many more of such kind can befall us. We forget that adversities are part of our lot as human beings. Even as Jesus suffered, we too shall suffer. Anyone who spurns suffering as part of human experience is not in touch with reality. Thus, they can linger on them too much and aren’t able to move on anymore. They can forever live in resentment, despair and hopelessness. Hence, the need to accept and even welcome adversities.
Be joyful. To feel joy seems to be an unnatural human reaction from one who suffers. Thus, it is not usually easy for us to respond to St. Paul’s exhortation when he says: “Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: rejoice!” (Phil 4:4) Such scriptural exhortation is not just address in the realm of emotions. It has something to do with attitude and disposition. Of course we know that hurts and pains do not make us emotionally happy. Yet we can surely rise beyond our own emotions and decide to be happy. When we are able to do this in God’s grace, we can definitely rejoice not only in good times but also in bad times.
Act in faith. There is nothing like doing something to overcome adversities. Whatever it is should come as a positive response and not just a reaction. We can absolutely do this in faith. Our faith doesn’t have to be big enough to be able to act on a given situation. Jesus himself said: “I tell you the truth, if you have faith as small as a mustard seed, you can say to this mountain, ‘move from here to there’ and it will move. Nothing will be impossible for you.” (Mat. 17:20) We may not be successful in our actions. We can fail. But that is not what is important after all. What is more important is our faithfulness to Him who knows everything.
Hope in the Lord. No greater assurance lies ahead of us than the promise of His Kingdom where there is no mourning, no crying no tears anymore. As the line in the beautitudes says: “Blessed are those who mourn, for they shall be comforted.” (Mat. 5:4) Whatever adversity we experience in these times is not the end of it. There is greater hope in the Lord Jesus Christ. Therefore, “let us hold unswervingly to the hope we profess, for He who promised is faithful.” (Heb.10:23)
May the God of hope fill us with all joy and peace as we trust in Him, so that we may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. God bless us all.
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