After the Mountain Was “Removed” …

Wang Zhi

“The Foolish Old Man Removes the Mountains” is a well-known ancient Chinese fable about an old man who was determined to dig away the two mountains in front of his house despite the impossibility of the task. Today, I’d like to tell a modern version of the story.

There was once a young man who lived in an isolated mountain village. A great mountain lay right in front of his house, making his travel very inconvenient. Whenever he went out, he had to take a path around it. Afterward, he got married and had three sons. As time went by, the young man turned old and frail, while his sons all grew up to be successful. The first son became a builder, the second one worked in business, and the third one was in charge of a logistics team. The only constant was the mountain in front of the house. Every time the old man traveled, he hobbled all the way circumventing the mountain. … One day, an idea suddenly occurred to the old man, so he called his three sons, saying that he wanted to have the mountain removed. Hearing that, his sons all advised him to give up the idea and live with them in the city. But the old man said, “I won’t go to the city, for I’ve already been used to the life in the village. The air is fresh, and there is no noise. The only problem is the mountain that stands in the way.” After discussion, the three sons decided to fulfill their father’s wish since they were capable of that. Then, the first son dispatched front-end loaders and excavators to the site, the second one paid the money, and the third one mobilized his logistics team. Having got everything prepared, they broke ground on the project. Instantly, the machines rumbled and kicked dust into the air. After a few months of operation, a 10-plus-meter-wide road was cut through the mountain and paved with asphalt. Besides, a pavilion was built in the yard, and the house looked literally like a villa. The old man was overwhelmed with joy as he saw the sight before him.

One day, high winds ripped through the newly built road to the house of the old man, sand smashing against the glass with noises. Immediately, the pavilion in the yard was blown askew, and the tiles were torn off the roof of the house. … After the wind passed, the onetime villa was left in ruins. The old man cried out in confusion, “Heavens! What did I do wrong? Why did this befall me? I’d never come across anything like this before. What’s going on?”

Why did this happen to the old man? God has given us the answer in His words. He says: “So what use is the mountain here? Is it somewhat like a filter for the wind? (Yes.) The mountain takes the fierce wind and cuts it down into what? (A slight breeze.) Into a slight breeze. Most people could touch and feel it in the environment where they lived—was it a fierce wind or a slight breeze that they felt? (A slight breeze.) Isn’t this one of the purposes behind God’s creation of mountains? Isn’t this His intent? What would it be like for people to live in an environment where the fierce wind blew around bits of sand without anything to block or filter it? Could it be that with sand and stones blowing around, people wouldn’t be able to live on the land? Some people might get hit in the head by the stones flying about, or others might get sand in their eyes and wouldn’t be able to see. People could get sucked up into the air or the wind could blow so hard they couldn’t stand up. Houses would be destroyed and all sorts of disasters would happen.” “such as mountains, mountain ranges, plains, hills, basins, valleys, plateaus, and rivers. God applies these different geographical environments to change an airflow’s speed, direction and force, using such a method to reduce or manipulate it into an appropriate wind speed, wind direction, and wind force, so that humans can have a normal living environment. Doing something like this seems difficult for humans, but it is easy for God because He observes all things. For Him to create an environment with a suitable airflow for mankind is too simple, too easy. Therefore, in such an environment created by God, each and every thing among all things is indispensable. There is value and necessity in all of their existence. However, Satan and corrupted mankind do not have such a philosophy. They keep destroying and developing, vainly dreaming of turning mountains into flat land, filling up canyons, and building skyscrapers on flat land to create concrete jungles. It is God’s hope that mankind can live happily, grow happily, and spend each day happily in the most suitable environment He prepared for them. That is why God has never been careless when it comes to dealing with mankind’s living environment.” “Why has man found himself in his current environmental predicament? Is it because of man’s greed and destruction? If man ends this destruction, won’t the living environment gradually right itself? If God does nothing, if God no longer wishes to do anything for mankind—that is to say, He doesn’t want to intervene—the best method would be for mankind to stop this destruction and return things to how they were. Putting an end to all this destruction means to stop the plundering and devastation of the things God has created. This will allow the environment where man lives to gradually improve. Failure to do so will result in further destruction of the environment and it will only become more serious.”

After reading God’s words, have you known who was to blame for the old man’s tragedy? What did he do wrong? Yes, he shouldn’t have “removed” the mountain that had protected him. Actually, God created all things and set boundaries and laws for them—all of this God has done is for us human beings to live happily. There is value in the existence of each and every thing among all things. For example, the mountain can block the wind and change its speed, so that the fierce wind is reduced to a mild breeze which can please people. Nonetheless, when we are blinded by greed and act contrary to God, for the sake of our own self-interests, trying to change the laws established by God for all things and wantonly damaging the homeland we rely on for our survival, can we still enjoy the pleasant breeze? When we believe we have led a cozy and comfortable life by changing the environment where we live, have we ever wondered the dire consequences of such willful destruction of the living environment God prepared for us? Considering the benefits the old man enjoyed from the mountain’s “removal,” we might approve of him; however, faced with the unexpected result of his house being destroyed by the strong wind carrying sand, we couldn’t help but heave a sigh: The old man, you are truly foolish!

The story is well worthy for us to deliberate. In real life, how can we save the land our lives depend on—the earth, where there has already been widespread devastation? The only answer is that we should stop the destruction, return things to how they were, gain knowledge of the Creator’s sovereignty and return to His side. …

Recommended:
God Himself, the Unique VII

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Obeying God and Shaking Off Pain and Emptiness

Cheng Yi

I am an ambitious and arrogant woman. When I was thirty years old, my husband overstepped the bounds, abandoning my daughter and me. So, I left with my daughter in humiliation, for which people felt regret. After arriving in a new city, I resolved on being a strong and independent woman as well as set a goal to strive for: I must train my daughter as a graduate. I must buy a suit of house in this city. I must stand in high spirits before that man who forsook me to retrieve my dignity someday. I did believe that I could change my fate by my efforts. However, in the over ten years that followed, no matter how I strove, my dream never came true. Not only did I suffer setbacks in my career time and again, but I ran up debts. Furthermore, my daughter wallowed in online games at an early age, becoming more and more decadent. My desire of retrieving the lost dignity fell short of the mark. … Faced with my own circumstance, I thought that I paid so much but none was fulfilled. I felt pained as if my heart was hollowed out. I sensed that I was a failure, exhausted. I didn’t resign myself to plodding hard but accomplishing nothing, yet I neither knew how to change my fate nor what the value of man’s living was. When I was in pain and feeling helpless, I often looked up at the sky and cried: There is no hope in my life; what is the significance of being alive?

At this time, my mother back home called me, saying: “Get back home. Stop struggling. That’s fate.” At that moment, I saw myself with white hair in the mirror. I could not help but sigh in my heart: I’m already forty-five years old. I’ve gone through half a life’s journey, but now I’m still as bare as the palm of my hands. The former haughtiness becomes a sigh. What other results can I get in my own strength? Thinking of the word people often say “acknowledging the will of Heaven at fifty,” I calmed down and thought: I exert myself to the utmost over ten years for achieving my life goal but end up with nothing. Will I really spend a flat life as fate would have it? I’m not reconciled, but what else can I do? I had no choice but to compromise to fate. From then onward, facing all manners of circumstances, I no longer was swayed by my feelings or had a senseless struggle or uttered complaints, but was content with things as they were. It seemed I stood aloof from worldly strife. I thought I had found the best way of living and the best life attitude, but in reality, I could not free myself from the struggle and emptiness in my deep heart. I was still living in pain and hopelessness. …

Up to one day, I surfed on the Internet, seeing a religious website inadvertently and then I clicked it. I was greatly touched by its content, in which I found the root of my living a painful and empty life and had a correct understanding of life. I read this passage of words, “Some people have a profound, deeply-felt understanding of the phrase ‘that’s fate,’ yet they do not in the least bit believe in God’s sovereignty, do not believe that a human fate is arranged and orchestrated by God, and are unwilling to submit to the sovereignty of God. Such people are as if adrift on the ocean, tossed by the waves, floating with the current, with no choice but to wait passively and resign themselves to fate. Yet they do not recognize that human fate is subject to God’s sovereignty; they cannot come to know God’s sovereignty on their own initiative, and thereby achieve knowledge of God’s authority, submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, stop resisting fate, and live under God’s care, protection, and guidance. In other words, accepting fate is not the same thing as submitting to the Creator’s sovereignty; belief in fate does not mean that one accepts, recognizes, and knows the Creator’s sovereignty; belief in fate is just recognition of this fact and this outer phenomenon, which is different from knowing how the Creator rules humanity’s fate, from recognizing that the Creator is the source of dominion over the fates of all things, and even more from submitting to the Creator’s orchestrations and arrangements for humanity’s fate. If a person only believes in fate—even feels deeply about it—but is not thereby able to know, recognize, submit to, and accept the Creator’s sovereignty over the fate of humanity, then his or her life will nonetheless be a tragedy, a life lived in vain, a void; he or she will still be unable to become subject to the Creator’s dominion, to become a created human being in the truest sense of the phrase, and enjoy the Creator’s approval. … Only when one accepts the Creator’s sovereignty, submits to His orchestrations and arrangements, and seeks true human life, will one gradually break free from all heartbreak and suffering, shake off all the emptiness of life.” These words woke me up. It turned out that it was because I didn’t have the stamina to try doggedly that I had to resign myself to fate. I recalled my experience over a decade: For the sake of realizing my desire, I have ran a beauty salon, managed a Taobao shop and made a private investment, but I ended up with complete failure. Afterward, I hung the only hope on my daughter, setting my heart on sending her into the college. However, she insisted on dropping out of school and stepped into the society early. My hope shattered thoroughly. No longer did I have the motivation for struggling at this time, only choosing to submit to the will of Heaven. Nevertheless, I didn’t truly know that God rules over humanity’s fate and willingly accept and obey all things arranged by the Creator, but chose another lifestyle to escape His sovereignty over my fate, that is to say, had no alternative but to fritter away my life when opposing Him. I did acknowledge the will of Heaven, yet it did not mean me obeying God’s will. Thus, I couldn’t be freed from the struggle deep in my soul, still living in emptiness and misery.

I went on surfing and saw another passage, which pointed out a clear way to me. It says, “If one’s attitude toward God’s sovereignty over human fate is active, then when one looks back upon one’s journey, when one truly comes to grips with God’s sovereignty, one will more earnestly desire to submit to everything that God has arranged, will have more of the determination and confidence to let God orchestrate one’s fate, to stop rebelling against God. For one sees that when one does not comprehend fate, when one does not understand God’s sovereignty, when one gropes forward willfully, staggering and tottering, through the fog, the journey is too difficult, too heartbreaking. So when people recognize God’s sovereignty over human fate, the smart ones choose to know it and accept it, to bid farewell to the painful days when they tried to build a good life with their own two hands, instead of continuing to struggle against fate and pursue their so-called life goals in their own manner. When one has no God, when one cannot see Him, when one cannot clearly recognize God’s sovereignty, every day is meaningless, worthless, miserable. Wherever one is, whatever one’s job is, one’s means of living and the pursuit of one’s goals bring one nothing but endless heartbreak and irrelievable suffering, such that one cannot bear to look back. Only when one accepts the Creator’s sovereignty, submits to His orchestrations and arrangements, and seeks true human life, will one gradually break free from all heartbreak and suffering, shake off all the emptiness of life.” My heart was awakened by these words. I thought about the way I had walked before. Without direction, I staggered and tottered through the fog, moving every step with hardships and sorrows. Even though I had believed in God, I didn’t truly recognize God’s sovereignty over human fate. Depending on my own efforts, I planned my own life and pursued the objective set by myself. When I suffered defeats after going all out, not attaining my aim, I was painful, disappointed, and even thought death was the best mercy. Whenever I ran back over all of this, I felt distressed. Through reading these words now, I felt they pointed out my confusions and thoughts. I didn’t believe that my fate is in God’s hands, and wanted to change my fate by my effort. Opposing God was grieving and agonizing. I felt these words were the truth and came from God. What’s more, they told me that if I wanted to get rid of these sufferings, I only had one path: bidding farewell to the lifestyle of creating a good life by my own efforts, not continuing to plan my future by myself any longer, but accepting God’s sovereignty, submitting to His orchestrations and arrangements and living under His leadership and guidance. Only in this way could I shake off all the suffering and emptiness. At that time, I gained the unprecedented comfort, feeling my life had a favorable turn. Enlightened a lot in my heart, I was willing to practice in accordance with these words.

After that, I often prayed to God and read His words. I learned to rely on God when I encountered something in my life, committed my job, family and daughter to His control and no longer changed things depending on my own efforts. Gradually, I found God’s arrangements are good and felt so wonderfully assured and peaceful deep in my soul. I was full of hope and confidence in my future life. Looking back upon every stage of life I had gone through, I understood that each step is led by God, regardless of whether it is hard or smooth. My birth, family, job, marriage, including any tribulation I will experience in my life, have long been destined by God. Thank God! I am willing to commit all my life to Him, letting Him be my Lord, my God, and pursuing to be a true worshiper of Him.

Recommended:
With God, I’m No Longer Empty and Helpless
My Painful Experience of Struggling Against Fate
Walking the Bright Path of Human Life

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A Trader’s Regret

A Trader’s Regret

Xingwu

I once heard a thought-provoking story:

A trader who had been away from home for many years decided to return home, and he would walk through a vast desert on the way. With the gold coins earned through years of hard work and enough food and water, he set out on the journey happily. However, soon the blistering heat of the desert was unbearable for him. He must lighten the load so as to walk out of the desert as soon as possible. He was hesitant to make a choice among the coins, food and water. Thinking that he had spent most of his life accumulating the wealth, he was too loath to throw a single coin away. Hence, he discarded most of the food and water and was on his way again.

He had not walked far when there was little food and water left. Just then, he heard the sound of camel bells: A camel caravan was coming towards him. The trader was overjoyed and hurriedly went forward seeking for help.Unexpectedly, after learning the trader’s situation, the caravan asked him for a large sum of gold coins in exchange for food and water. The trader, hungry and thirsty, touched his money bag and said to himself: “To exchange the gold coins for food and water can support me to walk out of the desert as quickly as possible. But, if so, little of my wealth will remain.” Finally, the trader gritted his teeth and said: “I won’t buy your food and water. As long as I hold on a little longer, I can walk out of the desert.” The members of the caravan all laughed at him: “What a miser! He prefers money to life!” Yet the trader ignored their derision and resumed his journey.

Without water, the trader could scarcely move his dragging limbs and flaked out before he got much farther. He touched his gold coins and thought: How I wish these gold coins could be drunk as water! Just at this moment, another caravan passed by. The trader begged them for water, but they also asked him to trade many gold coins for food and water. Still, he was too stubborn to do that. Then he picked himself up with difficulty and stumbled forward. The people of the caravan shouted behind him: “Which is more important, coins or life?” However, the trader was indifferent to their words.

The following day, the trader trudged to the edge of the desert, and he even dimly saw the smoke from the village in the distance. Nevertheless, he had already been exhausted. Eventually, he toppled down. Before he died, he sighed: “If I had given up my gold coins earlier, I would not be dying now. It’s late, too late …”

At this point of the story, many of us may feel sorry for the trader’s greed and ignorance. However, we might as well put ourselves in his shoes and reflect upon ourselves, or pay attention to the people around us. Are we not the same as him most of the time? Being beguiled by Satan, so many people bustle about struggling for fame and fortune with every effort all their lives. Not content with living comfortably, some people try their best to obtain better material enjoyments throughout their lives and are unwilling to give up their pursuit even when they are full of illnesses. Not satisfied with being rich only, some fight for status to stand out and be distinguished. Some spend their lifetime striving for fame and profit, and when they fall ill lying in bed they still worry about their gains and losses. Tempted by fame and fortune, people expose various follies, which forces us to reflect: Does man live only for fame and fortune? What exactly is the value of man’s existence? Almighty God says: “People spend their lives chasing after money and fame; they clutch at these straws, thinking they are their only means of support, as if by having them they could keep on living, could exempt themselves from death. But only when they are close to dying do they realize how distant these things are from them, how weak they are in the face of death, how easily they shatter, how lonely and helpless they are, with nowhere to turn. They realize that life cannot be bought with money or fame, that no matter how wealthy a person is, no matter how lofty his or her position is, all people are equally poor and inconsequential in the face of death. They realize that money cannot buy life, that fame cannot erase death, that neither money nor fame can lengthen a person’s life by a single minute, a single second.” “The Creator treats everyone fairly, giving everyone a lifetime’s worth of opportunities to experience and know His sovereignty, yet it is only when death draws near, when the specter of death hangs over one, that one begins to see the light—and then it is too late” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

God’s words warn every one of us that fame and money cannot bring man life because they are the tools used by Satan to deceive and harm man. If man becomes obsessed with them, they will only stray further and further from God. Without God’s care and protection, mankind will be fooled by Satan like a plaything in its hands, blinded by fame and fortune and incapable of distinguishing between good and evil. People spend a lifetime’s worth of energy pursuing fame and gain. What’s more, when faced with the threats of disaster, disease, and death, they still think how to preserve their hard-earned money and fame, just like the trader in the desert. They do not awaken until the last minute of their lives. But it is too late to regret then. In fact, man was created by God personally, so his life and fate are controlled by God’s hands. It is God’s will that man should worship Him, obey His sovereignty and arrangement, and commit everything to Him, so God will protect man from Satan’s test. Only by living before God and obtaining the truth as life can man live out a most meaningful life.

During the last days, Almighty God bestows upon mankind all the truth of pursuing salvation and gaining eternal life. If man is able to not be restrained by fame, money and position and come before God to receive His salvation, he will obtain God’s guidance and blessings and live out the value a created being is supposed to. As God’s word says: “If one views life as an opportunity to experience the Creator’s sovereignty and come to know His authority, if one sees one’s life as a rare chance to perform one’s duty as a created human being and to fulfill one’s mission, then one will necessarily have the correct outlook on life, will live a life blessed and guided by the Creator, will walk in the light of the Creator, know the Creator’s sovereignty, come under His dominion, become a witness to His miraculous deeds and to His authority” (“God Himself, the Unique III” in Continuation of The Word Appears in the Flesh).

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How Much of God’s Creating All Things Do We Really Know?

How Much of God’s Creating All Things Do We Really Know?

Gao Han

From the Bible, I learned that when God created the world, He created the heavens and earth and all things during the previous five days, and created humanity and various living things on the sixth day. After knowing this fact, I thought that I had known God’s creation and believed He is the only true God. Not until I read God’s words did I come to understand how God created, manages and rules all things. Especially when I saw God says, “God created all things and used His own methods to set the laws of growth for all things, as well as their growth trajectory and patterns, and also set the ways all things exist on this earth, so that they may live continuously and depend on each other. With such methods and laws, all things are able to successfully and peacefully exist and grow on this land. Only by having such an environment is man able to have a stable home and living environment, and under God’s guidance, continue to develop and move forward, develop and move forward” (God Himself, the Unique VIII). I realized that, every day, we enjoy the air, sunshine, as well as rain and dew created by God, eat all kinds of grains provided by Him, and witness the changes and transformations of the natural world with our own eyes, but we have hardly any knowledge of His will behind His creation.

God says, “Ever since God created them, based on the laws that He determined, all things have been operating and have been continuing to develop regularly. Under His gaze, under His rule, all things have been developing regularly alongside the survival of humans. Not a single thing is able to change these laws, and not a single thing can destroy these laws. It is because of God’s rule that all beings can multiply, and because of His rule and management that all beings can survive …” (“God Himself, the Unique IX”). From God’s words, I understand that God determined the laws for all things at the same time He created all things. Afterward, He still manages and rules them. Then I continued reading God’s words, and I got some knowledge of God’s will of determining these laws: In the past, we only knew that God created mountains, plains, deserts, hills, rivers and lakes. The vastness of plains often wins our great admiration, yet we have never known that the plains are the best living environment God prepared for us mankind, in which it is convenient for us to walk and work. Mountains are natural defenses God prepared carefully for our living environment. They can block the sudden fierce winds and gigantic waves and keep our homes from being attacked and destroyed. They also take on the mission of raising a variety of animals and plants, and, simultaneously, supply ideal habitats for various birds. You may be attached to the mountains inasmuch as they are shot through with great vitality, but detest deserts on account of their blistering heat and being barren. But in truth, deserts are specially prepared and arranged by God for regulating the temperature. Because of their existence, there is suitable temperature and climate for us to live. The rivers and lakes are sources of water God offered for our survival. With water to drink, we will have the guarantee of survival. … When the world began, God drew boundaries and set the laws for plains, mountains, deserts, and hills. If we break and change this laws by our own will, we will only bring disaster on ourselves. Take the construction of the Three Gorges Project in China for example. It has converted a great deal of plains into reservoirs and has triggered several earthquakes, mountain landslides, and other geological calamities. God’s determining these laws for all things is for us humanity to live a life of happiness and in good health for generation after generation. Thus, only by abiding by these laws can we live in peace and happiness. Just as God’s words, “This is how God manages all beings. It is to provide for mankind the best environment for survival. The living beings within all beings each have life-sustaining food within their own environments for survival. With that food, they are fixed within their native environment for survival; they are fixed in that environment. In that kind of environment, they are still surviving, multiplying, and continuing on according to the laws God has established for them. Because of these types of laws, because of God’s predestination, all beings interact harmoniously with mankind, and mankind and all beings are interdependent” (“God Himself, the Unique IX”).

From God’s words, I also understood that God not only gave mountains, plains, rivers, and lakes their scope, but also arranged different living environments for various birds and beasts, and other animals and all plants. The fish can’t live without water, while different kinds of birds are doomed to fly in the sky; Livestock such as cattle and sheep are reared by man, but wild beasts always live in the forest; Lions and tigers never swim in the water, whereas the fish in the sea never creep in the desert; We can live with dogs and cats, but no one keep elephants or snakes at home as pets. … When God created all things, He set the laws of their existence according to their function and attribute. So all things survive and multiply according to the laws. It is because of these laws that sorts of animals, plants, and human beings can live safely; It is because of these laws and God’s ordination that all things and humans are interdependent, which constitutes a beautiful and harmonious spectacle. It can be said that whatever God does, we humans are always the ultimate beneficiaries. Of late years, locusts’ attacking crops has occurred frequently, and tens of thousands of toads once appeared on the street, which brought great harm to our lives. This is all because these creatures’ homelands are destroyed. That is to say, once the laws God established for all things are damaged, we humans will be harmed in the end. … At that moment, I realized the reason why God saw that it was good after creating all things. Everything He bestows on us mankind is indeed the best. At that time, I truly experienced that the way in which God treats us humans is akin to how parents treat their own children. His heart and love need us to feel and experience with our hearts.

God says, “If you limit your understanding of God to just words, if you limit it to your own little experiences, God’s grace that you count, or your little testimonies to God, then I say that your God absolutely is not the true God. He absolutely is not the true God Himself, and it can also be said that the God you believe in is not God. This is because the God that I am speaking of is the One that rules over everything, that walks among everything, that manages everything. He is the One that holds the fate of all of mankind—the One that holds the fate of everything. The work and actions of the God that I am talking about are not just limited to a small portion of people. That is, it’s not limited to just the people who currently follow Him. His actions are demonstrated among all things, in the survival of all things, and in the laws of change of all things” (“God Himself, the Unique IX”). After reading these words, I realized that our previous understanding of God is only confined within the words of the Bible and limited range of vision. Now, when we have seen more and more His deeds, and felt more of His great, immeasurable authority and power, we won’t delimit Him within narrow bounds any more. Because innumerable facts prove that He is not just the God of all believers in the Lord, but also the God of all humankind, and, moreover, the God of all things and all living beings; He did not merely create all things, but has been supplying and managing them in particular methods, which makes us and other things restrain one another, and depend on one another, and furthermore allows man and all things to follow the laws set by Him and live under His blessings continuously. His wisdom is wonderful and unfathomable. His deeds are deeply mysterious. We should come out of the Bible and the stage of our ideas, so that we can truly know Him. By the time when we these understanding, we will feel that He is the One who supplies us with everything, and the only thing we have. And we will grow to have infinite gratitude and adoration for Him.

Recommended:
After the Mountain Was “Removed” …
God’s First Commandment for Mankind is Full of Concern
On the First Day, the Day and Night of Mankind Are Born and Stand Fast Thanks to the Authority of God

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How To Shake Off Worries And Find A Happy Life

How To Shake Off Worries And Find A Happy Life

Hanxiao

There is no denying that we all want to live a happy life, having a warm and harmonious family, an ideal job, a good prospect, sensible children and so on. However, in the process of seeking happiness, we are besieged by all sorts of worries. Some people worry about whether their jobs will be threatened in face of fierce social competition. Some worry about their success in competition with their colleagues.Some  rack  their brains trying to make big money to remain invincible in the business.Some seek every means to attend training classes given by famous teachers to improve themselves constantly, so that they will become the strong of life or social elites. And some worry about when they can pay off their car loan or housing loan and therefore rush and busy about for it. More people can hardly breathe due to hard work or heavy business, and pressures of life have greyed their hair. Others worry about their marriage and family in face of the temptations from the evil trends of the world. Still others worry about how to educate their children and make them stand out among others in the increasingly fierce social competition. … With so many worries in our life, isn’t the happy life we yearn for far from the reality?

Then, What Causes the Worries in Our life?

There are mainly two reasons.

First, our criteria of a happy life are fame and gain. We think we will live happily as long as we succeed in our studies, careers, and marriage, our children become useful, and we become the best of the best and are admired by others. We all live by the rules for survival such as the “wealth and status,” “family prestige,” “rising above others,” “money talks,” “money isn’t everything but without money you can’t do anything.” So we fix our life goals firmly on those which can bring us fame and gain, and fear that something would go wrong in the course of our pursuit and thus we might brush past happiness.

Second, we live in our own worlds and always want to live the life we desire through our own exertion. In fact, we are insignificant in this universe, but we always consider ourselves powerful. We think that our fates can be controlled by our own hands. Only by seizing the right moment and grasping our fate can we succeed, and only by keeping ourselves progressing can we achieve a happy life step by step. For these reasons, we often worry: Should I have done it better? Have I missed any chance?

Can These Things We Pursue Bring Us a Happy life?

In reality, if we think back and observe carefully, we can easily find this fact: Many people try their best to live happily, but when some of them do get fame and gain and position, they find themselves living in a treacherous world where people intrigue against and outwit each other. They are no happy at all. Some people have reaped fame and gain after struggling most of their life, but they do not feel happy within their hearts. For they have seen that there is no justice, no righteousness, and no light in the world—everyone lives for fame and gain and for pursuing fleshly enjoyments, and nobody can find a shred of the value and meaning of life. Some people have successful careers and happy marriages, but in real life, they rack their brains to get money, fame, gain, and position, and are exhausted from the sinister interpersonal relationship. Some people become millionaires, but they die young or commit suicide, for the material wealth cannot fill the emptiness of their hearts. So money cannot bring us happiness, either. Even many elderly people who used to eat bland food say, “Now we are wealthy and don’t need to worry about food and clothing, but we always have a sense of emptiness within. Well, we’re just muddling along.’” Maybe you don’t understand why they say so. Since they had gone through many hardships and now live a wealthy life, they should feel happy. But how come …

Actually, King Solomon’ words in the Bible have given us the answer. He said, “I have seen all the works that are done under the sun; and, behold, all is vanity and vexation of spirit” (Ecclesiastes 1:14). This shows that a wealthy life, and fame and gain cannot bring us happiness; they can only make us feel increasing emptiness.

How Can We Shake off Worries and Live a Happy Life?

As a matter of fact, the true happiness comes from God, and only God is the source of our happiness. Only by obeying God’s sovereignty and walking the way of human lifein accordance with God’s requirements, can we have the true happiness. The LordJesus has said to us, “Therefore I say to you, Take no thought for your life, what you shall eat, or what you shall drink; nor yet for your body, what you shall put on. Is not the life more than meat, and the body than raiment? Behold the fowls of the air: for they sow not, neither do they reap, nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much better than they? … Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knows that you have need of all these things. But seek you first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added to you” (Matthew 6:25-26, 31-33).

We were created by God; and in the beginning, in order to make us mankind live better on earth, God created the beautiful Garden of Eden for our ancestors, Adam and Eve, and unconditionally bestowed upon them everything they needed to exist. They were carefree and blissfully living in Eden. Abraham, recorded in the Bible, heard God’s command and went to the place God promised to him. He didn’t worry about his future life, rising up and leaving his hometown. Because he had the true faith in God and true worship of God, he could obey all the orchestrations and arrangements of God. He took no thought of his own future and fate, nor did he have unreasonable requirements or extravagant desires for God. He lived in God’s blessings all his life because of his worship for God. In addition, Job, a character in the Bible that is familiar to us, spent all his life in seeking to know God among His creation of all things and worship Him, so he was blessed by God and became wealthy. When he was stripped of all, he neither complained or misunderstood God, nor worried about his future life, because he knew that everything was in God’s hands. When he absolutely obeyed and offered praise to God, not only did he gain double blessings from God, but also his life was prolonged and he died full of days at last. The Lord Jesus’ words make us understand that in our real life, if we are able to practice the Lord’s words, follow His way, and pursue the truth to gain life and attain fearing God and shunning evil, we will receive God’s blessings and salvation and be qualified to enter the kingdom of Heaven. Only when we love the Lord with all our heart, all our mind, and all our soul, only when we have an obedient attitude to our future life, and only when we receive everything God has arranged and prepared for us and seek to know God through it, can we live in happiness.

Finally, let me share a passage in “God Himself, the Unique III”: “For one sees that when one does not comprehend fate, when one does not understand God’s sovereignty, when one gropes forward willfully, staggering and tottering, through the fog, the journey is too difficult, too heartbreaking. … When one has no God, when one cannot see Him, when one cannot clearly recognize God’s sovereignty, every day is meaningless, worthless, miserable. Wherever one is, whatever one’s job is, one’s means of living and the pursuit of one’s goals bring one nothing but endless heartbreak and irrelievable suffering, such that one cannot bear to look back. Only when one accepts the Creator’s sovereignty, submits to His orchestrations and arrangements, and seeks true human life, will one gradually break free from all heartbreak and suffering, shake off all the emptiness of life.”

Dear friends, I hope this article could help you reflect on life, shake off your worries, and have a happy life.

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Hurry and Come to the Light

Hurry and Come to the Light

Hurry and Come to the Light

Chaotuo

If the pressure of life, study, and work

wears you out,

if the deception and fraud between people

exhausts you both mentally and physically,

do not be anxious, do not panic,

hurry and come to the light.

He will give you the strength,

and raise your hope for life.

If the comfort and affluence of life

causes emptiness in your heart, with nothing to fill,

if the idling away of the years

leaves you inexpressibly bothered and distressed,

do not worry, do not be perplexed,

hurry and come to the light.

He will open the window of your heart,

and inspire your aspiration for the light.

If the temptation of wealth and fame

overwhelms you, and you could hardly pull out,

if the trend and fashionsweeps you along, and you are deeply ensnared and lost,

do not hesitate, do not hang back,

hurry and come to the light.

He will save you from sin,

and enable you to see the dawn.

If the setbacks and failures

cast a gloom over you,

if the hardship of life and affliction of illness,

in your eyes, foreshadow a bleak and uncertain future,

do not lose hope, do not be depressed,

hurry and come to the light.

He will give you the faith and strength,

show you the path and direction of life.

You may wonder: Who is He that has such power?

His words have given the best answer:

“He is the One who has never been beheld by man,

the One whom mankind has never known,

in whose existence mankind has never believed,

yet He is the One who breathed the breath into mankind’s ancestors

and gave life to mankind.

He is the One who supplies and nourishes mankind for its existence,

and guides mankind up to the present day.

Moreover, He and He alone is whom mankind depends on for its survival.

He holds sovereignty over all things

and rules all living beings beneath the universe.

He commands the four seasons,

and it is He who calls forth wind, frost, snow, and rain.

He gives mankind sunshine

and brings the coming of night.

It was He who laid out the heavens and earth,

providing man with mountains, lakes and rivers and all the living things within them.

His deed is everywhere,

His power is everywhere,

His wisdom is everywhere,

and His authority is everywhere.

…………

Who can exempt themselves from His sovereignty?

And who can discharge themselves from His designs?

All things exist beneath His gaze,

and moreover, all things live beneath His sovereignty”

(“Man Can Only Be Saved Amidst the Management of God” in The Word Appears in the Flesh).

Hurry and come to the light.

He is Christ of the last days—Almighty God,

the Creator and Ruler of all things,

and the Master of the fate of mankind.

No matter how many puzzles and confusions you have,

He knows all these and can solve them as well.

He is the truth, the way, and the life.

Hurry and come to the light!

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