You're In Control

A few weeks ago, a good friend of mine lent me a book called "Encounters With God", because he thought it might help me with the hardships I was dealing with, and try thinking deeply in God's Word. The book is basically filled with people's experiences and how they overcome their thoughts, or problems with the help of the Lord.

As I was reading a few of their stories, I stumbled upon one bold phrase (written by Cindy Ooms) that caught my eye. 

"It takes a lot of guts to get to where you can really accept whatever God has planned."

I reflected upon my life and thought, yes it really did take a lot of guts. Accepting God's plan means you are admitting that you don't know what's best for you, or that your plans are never good enough compared to God's. It generally means that you're acknowledging and admitting the fact that God is in control in all things, and that everything that he has planned for you is always perfect.

Over the years I have been going along with God's plans, and I'm very satisfied with them. There are times when I feel why some things should or should not have happened, but in the future when I look back on my life, God always reveals the reasons why some things didn't happened, and that's because he has replaced them with a better one.

So, there will be a time where God wants you to fall, just to make you pick yourself up, and stand up stronger. There will be a time where God would say that certain things may not be as good. Often times, we might think that God is probably crazy for letting you miss such an opportunity, but in truth, He is always in control, and He would always provide the best for His children.

"Father, you know what's best for me. I have learned that your timing is always perfect, and you're always in control. So, thank you, for keeping me in mind that you're always here with me, no matter what."

image by my friend in Germany, Marie (@marieeeczy)

Pain Is Inevitable, Suffering Is Optional

Upon reading Haruki Murakami's books, I have found many quotes which I can relate to in life. A few days ago, I stumbled upon a quote in one of his books, "What I Talk About When I Talk About Running". It said:

“Pain is inevitable. Suffering is optional. Say you’re running and you think, ‘Man, this hurts, I can’t take it anymore. The ‘hurt’ part is an unavoidable reality, but whether or not you can stand anymore is up to the runner himself.” 

This hits me home hard. "Pain is inevitable, suffering is optional", I repeat to myself. 

The physical feeling is there, but sometimes we tend to hold on to the emotions, which we unconsciously make it worse. And still, it's our choice, whether or not to tell ourselves that we are fine.

I have probably fell a couple of times in life, and that's just unavoidable, because these downfalls are the only times we can learn. Just like what Bruce Wayne's butler, Alfred, said to him, "Why do we fall? So that we can pick ourselves up." One day, there will come a time where we fall too hard, and we will probably think it's the end of us, but the truth is that we need to hold on, and endure it. We can't just give up so soon.

So I'll tell myself that I can endure this pain, and it will probably subside soon. Because there's no use clinging onto this unnecessary sufferings that hold us back from feeling alive.

Note to self: Things will probably get better, in time.