Awwwww. Why is my sister on a different continent ):
We need to stop being nearsighted. Or rather, we should stop being disappointed with everything within our reach and starting trusting in the things we don't know. Everyone says it's easier said than done, but are we really trying to carry this out? I love not knowing. It's like I'm on a train, reaching a destination I've pinned all my hopes on. I've been on this track for years and one day, God decides to stop the train and changes my tracks. Of course I'd be mad, I wouldn't understand, I would want Him to change it back. Command + Z. But what I don't know, the tracks ahead might have been broken. (This came to me when I was watching The Incredibles. Haha, but I do believe that God can speak to us in any way.) That's just how interesting He is. I don't know when I realised this, but since then I haven't worried about where the tracks would take me. I know for a fact that wherever I end up, He will have something planned for me.
So many friends are hurting right now, maybe your train has stopped, your tracks have changed, and you're so bitter about not reaching where you want to go. Some might even be bitter about where you are heading. This is where we have to place God above our own desires. Can we really say, "Your will be done" ? Sometimes God takes us away from our own desires because He has something so much greater planned for us. It's difficult to imagine, but it is true. I like the story about the man who fought to bring his gold to heaven when he died. The angels were puzzled and asked, "Why are you bringing floor tiles with you?" To us, what we want is gold. What we want is right for us. But we worship in songs and declare that God knows best, that God will make a way. If we can declare that with our voices, can we declare that with our lives? "You give and take away, but my heart will choose to say blessed be Your name."
God might take us away from our dreams to bring us somewhere better. But God might present us with trials too. Being a Christian is not leading a perfect, smooth-sailing, prosperous life. I believe it's a journey. There are still ups and downs, but what's important is asking yourself, "What does God want me to learn from this problem? How does this bring me closer to God?" Everything in our life revolves around God. If we think otherwise, we should start to reflect. The very purpose of our existence is to worship Him. Isaiah 43:21 says, “This people I have formed for myself; they shall declare my praise.”
I remember the day I realised members of The Beatles were actually going against Christ. A friend then said, "Then take religion out of it. Not everything has to do with religion, you know." Not everything has to do with religion, but everything has to do with Christ. In a TV show I watched, a lady said, "You have to put down your personal convictions and just get the job done." How odd is that? If you put away your personal convictions to do something, it must not have been a conviction to begin with. Every time I think about this, about how everything relates to God, I remember C.S Lewis' "Christianity, if false, is of no importance, and if true, of infinite importance. The only thing it cannot be is moderately important."
Is it possible to lead a life without Christ in the equation? Can we say, "God, I want to follow you but let me do this first."? or "God, Your will be done, but please let your will be this-"? It's difficult to follow, but God's will ≠ our own. Surrender.
Today, so many youth are hurting because they don't get what they want, or they get what they want but end up getting hurt anyway. We need to stop being nearsighted. Instead of crying, "God why did you take this away from me," ask, "God where do you want me to go from here?" We will never understand until time passes and we look back.
When you live by faith and realise you are content, you will understand why God took away that time-consuming job. When you become a counsellor or a mentor to the youth, you will understand why God put you in such harsh conditions at home. On your wedding day, you will understand why God took away that boy/girlfriend of yours when you were 18.
What we can do now, is trust and be patient.