Uncertainty is part of life. It is always there, because we do not know everything and do not have control over all aspects of life. Sometimes, these uncertain elements become overwhelming and create myoptical despair that make us think that life is no longer worth living. Once we become overwhelmed, desolations creep in and overtake our will and desire to live and thrive. Hopeless can overtake us and make us think about giving up because life becomes hard to bear, things become problematic, and we just become easily frustrated because there is no desire to see and understand beyond what is closing in on us.
The ability to hope is a powerful force to help us try to broaden our horizons and vision, to rise above the apparent problems and go deeper than the surface level emotions and feelings. Life is not going to be easy, and there are daily struggles and problems that, at times, cannot be avoided. Therefore, it is important to find the source that gives us life and the will to carry on; else, it will just become harder to push forward, see beyond, and strengthen ourselves in the midst of all life’s ups and downs.
At times, we are so occupied and worried about the problems that are in front of us and all around us! It is very easy to let them dictate our lives and affect our emotions and feelings. When we sense that we are losing control, the natural reaction becomes defensive isolation. When we push people out, that state of mind makes us feel more lonely, depressed, and lost. Negativity eats us alive, and it slowly kills us deep from within! Therefore, it is important to see beyond what is challenging and to find the life-giving source that strengthens us deep from within.
When we are able to be attentive and mindful of the reality beyond the apparent situation, we are able to see the depth of God‘s goodness beyond the passing rains and storms of life. If we are not able to see things ourselves, we really need to be honest, humble, and transparent in asking for help. Too oftentimes, we are like rats in the maze, only see things right in front of us, but not able to see the bigger reality! Our current society and its instantaneous desire to have things under control and have them fixed as soon as possible do not always work because the messiness of life cannot be measured in a set time frame or a certain period. We hate to admit it, but we are not in total control and it hurts to let go of that desired to be the timer, judge, and standard on all matters, but we have to learn to be patient, understanding, and trusting that life is teaching us many things that are beyond our current comphrension.
Sadly, but true, I have seen too many suicidal idealizations and tendencies because our world has duped and told our people to chase after vain, empty, and false happiness. We have created a world of lies on social media, only highlighting the best moments to make one another jealous and nurture envy, but, at the same time, make us miserable when we begin to compare ourselves with others. When life gets hard and we fail to get what we want, we blame God on why we do not having it like “those people” because we dwell on our self-created pities and miseries! We have created hell for ourselves by telling one another to create unrealistic manifestations of life that are supposed to be good, wonderful, rosy, and according to our heart’s desires, in order to be happy.
Nonetheless, no stock market can remain high forever; not every day is going to be sunny, nor can our heartbeat remain high from excitement. If any of those situations were to happen for a long time, we would die from hypertension or heart disease, drought because there is no rain, atmospheric changes, and inflation would kick in and destroy the value of our money. Life has its ups and downs, so it is unrealistic to expect everything to go right and have it our way!
Nonetheless, we can be helpers who are proactive and attentive in helping each other to grow in love by how we personally and communally choose to care for one another. When life gets hard for others, and as the best that we are able, try to be present, listen, and help them see their value, worth, and hope beyond what is in front of them. Each and every one of us can choose to be present and say to one another in times of trial, “I care for you!”
There will be times when things are just too much to handle, and they just end up being complicated for us to help others. It is important to admit and share our limitations and desire to care with, “I understand that life is hard, but you are not alone!” None of us is the Savior, and we cannot save everyone; therefore, it is important to humbly know who we are and what we are called to be brothers and sisters in Christ Jesus. We are not here to fix and handle everybody’s business or to save them, but we can humbly choose to be present, attentive, engaged, supportive, and speak life into the situation and matter. In other words, we can let our genuine, God-centered charity be our caring support for one another in the trials, hardships, pains, sufferings, ups and downs of life.
Even though we might not be able to understand everything, agree with what they said, or fix other people’s problems, we can still say that, “I support you as a brother/sister in Christ!” True charity is very important, even though we might all have our own different perspectives and opinions on things. We can all speak the truth in charity by how we can step back, slow down, and desire to be considerate in our words and actions.
What makes life worthwhile and our battles worth fighting is the knowledge and understanding that we are not alone! In our trials and hardships, we can still choose to care and share genuine Christian charity in how we will the good of others, choosing to love them when it is hard. Hence, this is what St. Paul spoke about in his first letter to the Corinthians about love. (cf. 1 Corinthians 12:31-13:13)
Unfortunately, we have seen other ways that we have used the word of God to justify ourselves, condemn others, and instill fear, shame, and guilt instead of speaking life and truth into the relationship, situation, and reality of life. We have hidden our ego and agenda behind the word of God and use it as a weapon to divide and glorify ourselves. Hence, those are the results of false prophecies, coming from the mouths of those who seem to speak His teachings but only to serve themselves.
If we only use His word to make ourselves feel superior and better than others, we remain nothing but miserable, pitiful, resentful, and angry people deep from within. If we are truly His messengers, we need to speak the truth, and the truth needs to set us free instead of enslaving us! This truth needs to be grounded in our own personal way of life through prayer, worship, and humility.
We cannot be His messengers if we do not know how to pray, listen, and spend time with Him. We cannot speak life if we never understand what it means to be loved by Him in our very own life of worship, to be nourished by His divine revelation through the Sacred Scriptures, as well as to receive His Body and Blood at Mass. If we do not know what it means to be forgiven by God in spite of our unworthiness, we will remain prideful and arrogant in our own selfish standards and criteria of judging others (for the sake of making ourselves feel good). If we do not have humility, we serve no one else but ourselves because we expect others to change instead of dying to ourselves so He can live in us and through us.
St. Paul listed the qualities of love in his letter, but he emphasized in a very real and personal way that if love is missing, we are nothing more than gongs and cymbals, vain version of hypocrisy, and gain nothing for our eternal salvation because we remain unchanged, prideful, and have not given our life totally and completely to Him in loving service and humility. Faith, hope, and love remain because they give life to us, because they point us toward the greater and eternal reality beyond ourselves. They complement one another because true faith leads us to unwavering hope in Him who is faithful to us, and that faith and hope help us to be charitable in how we treat one another, speaking life and truth to the situations and people that we encounter!
Therefore, let us not lose sight of what is life-giving and true, especially forgetting who we are called to be! Let us speak life and let the truth set us free. We are truly children of our Heavenly Father, disciples of Christ Jesus, and instruments of the Holy Spirit, and we can share that grace-filled and life-changing truth with others through how we choose to live our lives with genuine faith, hope, and love. This world needs us, and God has given us as a special mission and purpose to be His messengers in such a hurtful, empty, and vain world, so let us not lose sight of worldly uncertainties but be focused on His life-giving grace.
I Thirst (John 19:28) with Father Khoi 