Aug 24, 2014

Pondering’s:

I received an interesting comment back on my last article which I posted on BeliefNet.com under my name, Dave434, and I would like to respond to that comment. It was well thought out and carefully structured, and I believe it deserves a reply. That comment made me think, and hopefully will help further clarify what my last article was discussing.

The commentator stated that Joseph went through a trial when he was sold into slavery. He also mentioned that Job went through trials when he lost everything he had. But each of these events were just that: “events”. They appear to us as observers as “trials”, but a “trial” can only be judged by the person undergoing the event. We do not know how Joseph personally viewed the event, but the allegoric story of Job was aimed to show that Job, which represented a God-loving type of person, did not view these as “trials”, but simply “events” that happened, until he lost focus at the end. Joseph, too, seemed to hold a positive viewpoint, according to the story, and just moved forward to meet each event as the next step in his life, resulting in a climb through the ranks to having a high position.

What is missing in treating these events as trials of any type is the key provided by Jesus when he stated “The Kingdom of God lies within”. Luke 17:21. This is the key in understanding and accepting all that goes on in our life, for if the Kingdom of God lies within each of us, it is a point of turning to that Kingdom that lies within to move beyond the event to the overwhelming power that surrounds all, the Power of God. Since the Kingdom of God, or Heaven, lies within each of us, it is always possible to reach into that power that lies within and go beyond any event that occurs. Any time we wish or desire, that source of strength is available. If we really spend some time thinking, meditating, and letting oneself open up to the impossible, the Kingdom of God is there: right Now, Here, filling me, blocking the pain of physicality and events. I can lay in the power of my God, my Eternal Wisdom. There is nothing that can prevent me from reaching that point of what is truly bliss but myself. God is with-in, with-out, filling all that exists and more, always available to supply energy and strength when our human strength is exhausted.

This is why the term “trials” has no meaning. If we walk in the circle of Love that is God, nothing can broach that power that is ever present to bring us beyond any “event” that occurs in our physical life. We can feel sorrow, but we can still be happy. Being happy is knowing that we are in the best place that we could be. Having sorrow is because we have lost something (our spouse, parent, child, friend, health, job, money, etc.) but accepting that lost as a part of life and taking that first step towards light keeps the doors of happiness still open. Having sorrow does not mean one is unhappy, but expressing an emotion, feeling, of loss of someone or something that was important in our life. Once again, having sorrow is not being unhappy. Dwelling on the loss, blaming someone, even God, for the loss, or even oneself, will bring unhappiness. Sometimes the pain can seem overwhelming, but God has given us means of dealing with this pain, human means such friends, councilors, groups dealing with similar pain, etc., and divine means such as the in-dwelling Kingdom of God. These means will slowly reduce the pain, perhaps never taking it away but turning the pain into a means to seeing God and the Eternal Wisdom in a new light. We can remain happy during all this, knowing that God is at the core of everything that occurs, and the event that occurred happened at the proper time to be most effective in reaching the most positive outcomes for all concerned at that particular time. This type of happiness is not the silly or joyful experience we feel at other times, but more of a feeling of contentment that everything is ok, that this too will ease, that we are resting in the Power of the Eternal Wisdom. This is Accepting what has occurred and opening ourselves up to the next step in our personal evolution.

And if we are wise, we will Expect that God will turn that next step to be the best that it can be to fulfill the highest wisdom possible at this time to achieve the highest possible outcome. Yes, Accept and Expect, the key words to understanding and using the various events in our lives to reach the highest vibration, from great wondrous joy to impossibly painful occurrences, all of which are only events in this world of time and serial life, that is, one event leads to another event and follows from a previous event. We do have the ultimate power to set the tone and tenure of our life, for as Jesus said “Greater things than these shall they do”. Now Jesus did caveat this by saying “Those who believe in me”, for truly Jesus showed that things beyond imagination can be done if we have the faith and trust that Jesus had in all things. That trust in God, our Ultimate Wisdom, the Power that is All in All, is what Jesus was referring to in his comment, for if we believe that Jesus could do the impossible, then so we, as fellow humans, also have the power to do impossible things. Now, writers have tried to downplay these words, saying “well, Jesus did not really MEAN we could do greater things”, but still those words are some of the few that almost all the scripture scholars believe were said by Jesus.

Accept. Expect. And Know that it shall be so. Just do not demand this or that, for we truly do not know what would be the most wondrous sequence of events that follow, but if we Expect the most wondrous sequence to happen, truly in our hearts Know that the most wondrous things will happen, then the most wondrous things Will happen, usually surprising us in many forms as it occurs, over time.

At times, some overcome what seems like a tremendous trial by going deeply within their psyche, unknowingly reaching into that inner core of God. A few years ago I met a woman that had been struck blind in her late twenties, the result of a severe reaction to a medication she was taking. After waking in the hospital, she was told that her optical nerve had been destroyed, and she would never see again. She was married and the mother of a two year old. She realized that she had two choices: either give up and let someone else raise her child and care for her, or come to grips and learn how to do all. This was in the late 1960’s. When we met her a few years ago, she did not use a cane unless she was away from her husband in a strange place. She walked once around the room, and learned where everything was, and could move with joyful ease anywhere. Her husband talked of the times he would come home and find the house dark, with his wife cooking up a storm with a flaming wok. When he commented on the fact the house was dark, her response was “So?”. But I still strongly remember her talking about a balloon ride she and her husband took just a few years earlier for our gathering, and how exciting it was. She described the sunrise, the beautiful colors, the mist rising in the morning over the mountains, etc. when someone asked how she knew, and could take such joy in that journey, she said that her husband could describe things well, and since she could see once, she could build up scenes in her mind to where she could see what was being described. She was filled with the joy of life, and would not let a little thing like the loss of her sight ruin that viewpoint.

That is turning what most would term a “trial” into an “event”. What was something that could have torn their marriage apart has been a blessing to the family, bringing them closer than they could have come before. They both spoke of their life of one filled with the joy of Love and togetherness, a unity.

Meditation

I thank you, my Eternal Wisdom, for learning to observe the series of events that occur in my life as just that, a series of events. You have taught me that each event that occurs is built on the previous event, and my response to that event. This wisdom has opened up a different world to me, and for that I am grateful beyond measure. You have granted me the gift of seeing how these events evolve into a future I could not have foretold. I am constantly amazed at the gifts of abundance you have granted me as I daily am trying to use these events in ways that seem to be the highest way possible, giving life as well as I am able to those who You bring into my life. I lay my life before you in gratitude, and ask that you continue to open my eyes to Your future as it is possible, out of the endless possibilities that exist.