Читать книгу An Endless Quest for Spiritual Truth: A Practical Guide to Everyday Spirituality - Eric Chifunda - Страница 9

Answers to Life

There is a spiritual answer to every question. However, life does not come with a manual to guide us toward all the answers we need. During periods of turmoil, doubt, anxiety, adversity, trials, or when at crossroads, we wish God could give us easy clear answers about what to do or the right direction to go. Why doesn’t God give us easy clear messages? Could it be that the messages are clear except our hearing and sight are faulty? Could it be that divine spirit is always trying to guide us in the right direction but we are either not aware, or we refuse to follow? Could it be that we hold on to old ways tenaciously that we resist new and right ways that may come about? Could it be that we have not purified our hearts enough to hear the guiding voice of God? Could it be that God is always present with us, but we are not always available to God through our own ignorance, pride, or stubbornness? As the Christian bible aptly states something to the effect that we have eyes, but we don’t see, and we have ears, but we don’t hear. This implies that our dependency on our limited physical eyes and ears do not allow us to see spiritual realities because they are outside the range of our physical senses. Hence, to view spiritual truth we have to forego the use of our limited physical senses and use our spiritual faculties that are designed to gain knowledge of spiritual truth.

It seems that our need for God grows greater when we are having a difficult time. Our need for help seems to make us want God more. Therefore we tend to be closer to God during these difficult times. And when our needs are fulfilled by the grace of God, we are the last to remember to thank God. At that time, our attention is no longer on God because the need for God is no longer there. Without consistent interaction with God, our understanding of God’s ways will be wanting. Therefore when God speaks, we won’t hear because we are not familiar with Its ways, Its language, Its voice. It seems life’s answers are for those who have learned to hear and see through their spiritual eyes and ears.

To get answers, one ought to be ready to see and hear when they come. The difficulty is that life’s answers may come in ways that are unexpected. Thus they may come in a way we might not recognize if our hearts are not ready and open to God’s ways. Thus it takes an awakened heart to recognize, receive, and accept answers from God. If we expect to get anything of worth from life, we must do our part—that’s putting in work truthfully. The more we expect from life, the harder we have to work in whatever we choose. That’s the way life works. As we get a good return from life, we must be grateful. Being grateful prepares our hearts to receiving more of life’s gifts. Answers come more easily to one with a grateful heart. Because a grateful heart is an open heart. And an open heart is a receptive heart. A receptive heart is a golden heart. A heart of gold is a loving heart; a loving heart has a direct link to God.

And therein lies the key to getting answers from God.