If there is one person from the Bible whose faith I greatly admire, it would be Job. Why? Well everything was drastically taken away from him: his children, his fortune, and even his health. Yet, he chose to trust the Lord and to trust that there will be better days ahead.
Now I do not know about you, but 2020 has been such a roller coaster ride. For everybody, I am quite sure, not just for myself. There had been so many trips that have been cancelled, friends I cannot physically see, and what-not. I know that these problems are not comparable to anything that Job went through, but for my life, I feel like this is something of a ‘struggle’.
What do I do when I feel like everything is not going according to plan? My plan, at that, not even God’s.
If I did not know better, I would relentlessly curse into the void or annoy everybody by complaining too much. But I do know better, and I know better to trust God’s plan for my life rather than be upset over plans that did not work out.
This year started with a bang, and I thought that 2020 would be my great year of adventure. Boy, was I mislead when I jumped and partied on New Year’s Eve in Mexico. I made so many plans with my friends to travel across Latin America, but three weeks into the year, we all had to go home. Obviously, I was pissed. For the first few weeks that I was back home, I was bored out of my wits. I had felt like my ‘adventure’ was taken away from me, but by who? Nobody wanted this to happen, but it did, and now we were all stuck in our houses for the unforeseeable future. Do I mope around my house or do I still praise and get on with my life?
I chose the latter.
Honestly, I felt like the first option would be the obvious choice. What were I to do in my house all alone for months and months until this quarantine ended? But then, I asked myself, what would Job do? He, surely, would never mope around pitying himself because of this ‘misfortune’ or this ‘bump along the road’. Job was a man of God, and he showed it in his actions. He went back to work and he praised God. So that is what I intended to do.
Five months into this whole quarantine season, I am now grateful to have seen the bigger picture. If I were still out there travelling, I never would have spent so much time with my family. Now this time spent with my family lead to me seeing children in a completely new light, hence, me being able to work on a children’s book dedicated to my beautiful niece. I never would have get to do that if I were abroad. Plus, it would completely slip my mind that grad school applications start this August for the year that I want to attend, which is next fall. So I would cram and stress out about not applying early enough, because I was so preoccupied with living my life.
Blessings really come in different shapes and sizes. Sometimes you would think that the Lord is testing you, but let us remind ourselves that the Lord only wants what is best for His children. I, now, think that the reason why I was sent home was because I was drifting so far away from the plans that He had set up in my heart. But now I look at my life, and this quarantine season in a completely new light.
Yes, I do miss the road. I will, most probably, get out there once it is safe to travel again…but not until I have finished applying to the universities I want to get accepted to. Also, not until I have seen and spent time with the people that I love and miss here in the Philippines. It might sound selfish of me to say that this whole quarantine season have done more good than bad, but that was what happened to me.
The next time you feel like everything is going wrong in your life, just think of Job. He lost everything, yet he choice to surrender his life to God.
Today, I am choosing faith over fear. I am choosing to be grateful instead of resentful. I am choosing to be happy instead of bored. Because life is so beautiful, and we are all so blessed. So think of Job, and think of how you are going to make the most of the situation that you are in.
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I would love to pray for you today. Comment below or send me a private message on how I can pray for you and your family. Let us shield each other in prayer on this very trying time.
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For now, I shall continue being faithful…and I shall continue my movie session at home. Be safe, friends, and wear your masks everywhere you go! Ciao, and blessings!
“As for me, I would seek God, and to God would I commit my cause, who does great things and unsearchable, marvelous things without number: he gives rain on the earth and sends waters on the fields; he sets on high those who are lowly, and those who mourn are lifted to safety.”
Job 5:8-11 ESV
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