THAT amusing
episode about St. Joseph thinking of quietly
separating from Our Lady because he found her already
with child in
her womb before they lived together (cfr. 1,18-25) is a
good lesson
and reminder that we just have to chill out when faced
with some
contradictions in life.
In any case,
worrying and plunging ourselves in
discouragement and sadness would not help us any. It
would simply make
things worse instead, putting us in a position that is
prone to more
dangers. We have to remember that sadness is always an
ally of our
enemy.
We need to
remember that everything is under God’s
control. If some bad things happen to us, it must be
because there is
a reason and a purpose behind it. We need to see the
bigger picture
that God provides us through our faith, hope and charity.
We should
not be guided simply by our own estimation of things. We
have to go to
God.
If we are lucky
like St. Joseph, we might be privileged to
have an angel explain things to us in a dream. But even
if we are not,
as is usually the case since extraordinary means are rare
and the
ordinary means to know the truth are plenty, we should
just go to God
asking for light, strength and comfort. That should be
our instinctive
reaction.
Ideally, we
should not be weighed down by any worry since
God takes care of everything. Some Bible passages
reassure us of this
truth. “So do not fear,” the Book of Isaiah says, “for I
am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God. I will strengthen
you and help
you; I will uphold you with my righteous right hand.”
(1,10)
And St. Paul in
his Letter to the Philippians says, “Do
not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by
prayer and
petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to
God. And the
peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will
guard your
hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” (4,6-7)
Still, from the
Psalms, we have these reassuring words:
“The Lord is my light and my salvation, whom shall I
fear? The Lord is
the stronghold of my life, of whom shall I be afraid?”
(27,1)
Of course, we
also have to do our part in resolving our
predicaments. Yes, we may worry a bit, but it should not
be for long.
We may have to suffer a bit, but again, it should not be
overdone. If
referred and united with Christ’s suffering, ours would
strike us to
be meaningful, purifying, redemptive, etc. We would end
up loving
suffering.
Let’s remember
that as long as we are with God, as long as
we believe and love him, everything will always work out
for the good.
(cfr. Rom 8,28) He knows how to derive good from evil,
since
everything depends on him, he being the Creator of all
things. No
matter how a creature goes against him, that creature
cannot overcome
him.
We need to
channel and assimilate this wonderful truth of
our faith into our emotional and psychological systems
which are where
our useless worrying takes place.
In fact, in
these aspects of our life, what should reign
or dominate always are the sentiments of joy and peace.
Otherwise, we
can say that our life is not as it should be. If it is
not a happy
life, then it is not the ideal human life, much less a
life of a child
of God.
Yes, we should
try to know and understand why some
contradictions happen in our life. Many times, that is
possible. But
there can be times when no matter how much we try to
understand
things, we still fail. That’s when we simply have to
trust in God’s
omnipotent and merciful providence.
In the
meantime, we should just chill out and focus on
what we are supposed to do in any given moment.
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