During the dark times...

Okay guys, I know I haven't wrote anything in a very long time, two months and 23 days to be exact. I have no good excuse, I've simply been too busy. Then I went on a month long trip, and now I'm back, picking up not exactly where I've left off. Life is still hectic, filled with lots of ups and downs, but I am thankful for every moment of everyday. I am a true believer that everything happens for a reason, and our God is in control and He has amazing plans for each one of us. So if you are going through a rough time right now, hang in there, one day it will all fit together.

We all go through various trials in life. Lets face it, no one lives a life full of rainbows, and colors, and dancing stars. We all face different situations where we feel pain, anger, disappointment, frustration, or all of the above. What do you do during this time of difficulty?

I think all of us are the same. When we go through trials, we are focused on ourselves. We are focused on our pain, our frustration, our disappointment, our anger, our sadness... We pray hard for ourselves and our situations. We ask others to pray for us. We question why things happen the way they did. We lift all that we feel, all that we say, all that we do before God. We ask Him to guide us and give us peace. Is there anything wrong with that? No, I don't think so. Because as we spend time reflecting, questioning, and praying, it is often during this time that we grow closer to God. Now why am I writing this? Because as I go through a time of trial feeling weak under the weight of the baggage I'm carrying, I am doing exactly all of the things I've listed above. I am wondering though, besides praying for myself and focusing on myself, what else should I be doing? 

Recently, my question was answered. I was reminded of what Jesus did and said during His darkest time. When He was on the cross facing the physical pain of the cross, hearing all the jeering and laughter of the people He loved, bearing the weight of all our sins, feeling the separation from the Father, He only said a few things on the cross. First, He asked for forgiveness from God for the very people who wronged Him.

'Jesus said, "Father, forgive the, for they do not know what they are doing." And they divided up his clothes by casting lots.' Luke 23:34

The next thing Jesus said was to the criminal hanging beside Him. The criminal repented his sins and asked Jesus to remember him,

'Jesus answered him,"I tell you the truth, today you will be with me in paradise."' Luke 23:43

After this, Jesus saw His mother and John while He was on the cross,

'When Jesus saw his mother there, and the disciple whom he loved standing nearby, he said to his mother, "Dear woman, here is your son," and to the disciple, "Here is your mother." From that time on, this disciple took her into his home.

If you noticed, in all the examples, Jesus did not focus on Himself, instead, He was focused on the people around Him. First He prayed for the people who were persecuting him, then He comforted the criminal beside Him, then He asked John to take care of His mother. I mean, during the hardest trial of Jesus's life, He did not just focus on how much He was hurting, He attended to the needs of the people around Him. Isn't that amazing? How many of us can do that? We don't even need to put ourselves in that very situation. Even in our everyday situation when we face a hard trial, when our heart is aching with sadness and frustration, how many of us can honestly say that when we come before God in prayer, we spend majority of the time thinking about other people's needs and not thinking about our own needs? I admit that I can be selfish, I spend much of the time licking my own wounds and praying for the people I've hurt, but not enough time caring and praying for the people around me. I can be so involved in my own little world that I stop noticing people all the buzz around me. Through this I am reminded, reminded of what I need to do during a time of hardship, what I need to do during a time of pain. It's not to say that we can't question God or pray for ourselves, because even Jesus did that on the cross (Matthew 27:46), but it is a reminder for us to look up once a while from our misery and see the world around us.

In the end, I guess all I'm trying to say is, when we are going through a rough patch in life with our head down, sometimes we need to make that effort to look up and see the needs around us. Jesus gave us a great example of how He went through the biggest trial of His life, He looked beyond His own suffering to help others. What about us? What will we do during our time of darkness and suffering?

"Do nothing out of selfish ambition or vain conceit, but in humility consider others better than yourselves. Each of you should look not only to your own interests, but also to the interests of others." Philippians 2:3-4