As our spiritual life unfolds, we pass through some trying experiences. We have to face difficulty and danger, ignominy and insult.
Often, we feel distressed and distraught—completely frustrated in mind and heart. Such experiences are not without a purpose. They teach us to turn to God, to depend upon Him for everything. “Thou alone art, O Lord! I am naught! I am weak: be Thou my strength!”
Calling upon God for help in times of trial and tribulation may appear to some as a very selfish act. But all our acts, in the beginning, have to be selfish—until we learn to become ‘spectators’ and watch the drama of life unfold itself on the stage of time.
If it is selfish to rely upon God, then it is far better to be ‘selfish’ than to be ‘egoistic’ and rely upon our own limited powers. This ‘selfishness’ is a necessary step in our spiritual evolution and will, at the right time, drop of its own accord—just as the flower drops when the fruit is born.
The one lesson we all need to learn is: utter dependence upon God. Everything else will follow. We must learn to turn to God for every little thing we need. until, one blessed day, we find that we need nothing and our one and only need is God!
When this happens, all that we need is provided for—naturally, spontaneously, always at the right time. Before we need a thing, it is already there. Everything comes to pass at the right time in the right way.
Then one moves through life like a king. When a king moves out, every thing is prepared for him in advance: he does not have to ask for anything. All his needs are anticipated and provided for. Ye are kings! Why wander ye like the king’s children, in the story, who starved and were clothed in rags, though around them were heaps of costly raiments and choiced foods?
We lay our trust in things that cannot trust themselves—in banks, which fail and in bonds, whose values fluctuate with every passing whim of a statesman or a dictator. We lay our trust in children and friends, who do not hesitate to betray the trust when it suits them.
We lay our trust in earthly power and dominion, in abundance of worldly goods that are perishable and pass away. We do all this with a view to build security of an uncertain life in an uncertain future. Alas! We sacrifice the security of a certain life in the certain present, which would be ours if only we place our trust in God!
When we lay our trust outside God, we bind ourselves to a life of ceaseless struggle. And struggle means uncertainty; struggle means anxiety, worry. We are tossed hither and thither like a storm-beaten boat knowing not whither we move.
All our time is spent in providing for some untoward happening, which need not occur at all. All our time is spent in making preparations for living, so that we really never live at all. Little wonder if our lives are bereft of the joy of living.
There is a ladder, which leads to the holy height where shines the white Light of Eternity. It is the ladder of faith, of trust. Believe in God! Trust in Him completely. Know that He will always do the very best for you. Therefore, cooperate with His Will. Become a willing instrument in the Hands of God.