I Take off the MASK!

The rich have wanted, and have suffered hunger: but they that seek the Lord shall not be deprived of any good. – Psalm 34:10

I’ve realized that however we try to exercise control in our lives, we really hold nothing upon our own hands. We cannot control how other people react. We cannot control the weather. We cannot control the economy or the political climate that affects us so much.

No matter how carefully we plan and try to reach our goals, there are obstacles that come unexpected. There are problems that hinder us from doing the things we wanted to do.

There is only one thing that cannot be hindered. If what we want is aligned with God’s best desires for our lives –if we want to be good, if we want to love and to be loved, to be truly happy, in this we can find assurance in God’s providence, protection and grace.

Some trust in chariots, and some in horses: but we will call upon the name of the Lord, our God. They are bound, and have fallen: but we are risen, and are set upright. – Psalm 20:7-8

Place your hope in Him where your victory is certain and your happiness is assured.

“When one door of happiness closes, another opens; but often we look so long at the closed door that we do not see the one which has been opened for us.” – Helen Keller

There is a door that has been opened for you. A door full of new possibilities. A door that could lead the way to the fulfillment of your dreams.

But such a door has been waiting for some time now, and it may be waiting in vain. It waits in vain for as long as you continue to look at doors that has long been closed for you. Doors that would no longer lead anywhere. Doors that would only bring tears and broken dreams.

When doors are shut, they are shut for a reason. And when they can no longer be opened, we must look elsewhere where there is still a way.

A door has been opened for you somewhere. You can wait in vain looking at that closed door or you can turn around and start looking for that open door where you can enter in.

“…the LORD, who makes a way in the sea,
and a path in the mighty waters says:
…
“Don’t remember the former things,
and don’t consider the things of old.
Behold, I will do a new thing.
It springs out now.
Don’t you know it?
I will even make a way in the wilderness,
and rivers in the desert. “
-Isaiah 43:16,18-19, WEB-BE

“When they had gone through the region of Phrygia and Galatia, they were forbidden by the Holy Spirit to speak the word in Asia. When they had come opposite Mysia, they tried to go into Bithynia, but the Spirit didn’t allow them. Passing by Mysia, they came down to Troas. A vision appeared to Paul in the night. There was a man of Macedonia standing, begging him, and saying, ‘Come over into Macedonia and help us.’ When he had seen the vision, immediately we sought to go out to Macedonia, concluding that the Lord had called us to preach the Good News to them.” – Acts 16:6-10, WEB

“We have to be braver than we think we can be, because God is constantly calling us to be more than we are.” -Madeleine L’Engle

There was a time when I thought that if I could solve all of my problems, I could finally sit back, relax and enjoy the rest of my life. I’ve realized however that even if you get to solve all your problems today, you really have no assurance that you won’t have to face any tomorrow.

Life goes on. And as long as it does go on, problems will continue to appear and we have to continue solving them.

Courage then is not a temporary tool we could use, but a lifetime virtue we need if we want to live a victorious life.

We have to be brave enough to face each and every obstacle that would come our way. And we have to have a motivation strong enough to be able to withstand all the storms that dare to destroy what we love most.

“Success is not final, failure is not fatal: it is the courage to continue that counts.” – Winston Churchill

“But we have this treasure in clay vessels, that the exceeding greatness of the power may be of God, and not from ourselves. We are pressed on every side, yet not crushed; perplexed, yet not to despair; pursued, yet not forsaken; struck down, yet not destroyed…” – 2 Corinthians 4:7-9, WEB

“Don’t you know that those who run in a race all run, but one receives the prize? Run like that, that you may win. Every man who strives in the games exercises self-control in all things.” – 1 Corinthians 9, WEB

There are some things we have to do even if we don’t like doing them. To have the proper nutrients for our body, we eat a balanced diet which may include food we don’t naturally like to eat. To be good at a certain sports, we take the pains of practicing for hours daily. We stay up late studying so we can learn and have good marks at school. We do research and work long hours in order to accomplish our job.

Here is patience. Here is sacrifice for a worthy cause. Here is perseverance.

Like a mother then who knows she will be experiencing great pains in order to give birth to her baby, may we never be deterred by temporary struggles from reaching the highest aspirations of our hearts.

“For, after all, every one who wishes to gain true knowledge must climb the Hill Difficulty alone, and since there is no royal road to the summit, I must zigzag it in my own way. I slip back many times, I fall, I stand still, I run against the edge of hidden obstacles, I lose my temper and find it again and keep it better, I trudge on, I gain a little, I feel encouraged, I get more eager and climb higher and begin to see the widening horizon. Every struggle is a victory. One more effort and I reach the luminous cloud, the blue depths of the sky, the uplands of my desire.” – Helen Keller, The Story of My Life