Some of us ask God only about putting us into Paradise after we die. But God much bigger than that. God can give us little paradises even here, on earth, when we pray to Him!
By Nigar
Stuck in a traffic jam, with smoke belching from trucks and car horns screeching into your ears ? If you are living in an over-crowded metro and have to travel anywhere, you might have to go through heavy traffic, pot-holed roads, rude drivers and crowds of people everywhere. By the end of the journey, you might get a severe headache and may even develop fever symptoms. This is what happened with me a few days ago when I was travelling. Stuck in a jam, I observed a vast number of vehicles”with people all in a major hurry to get going. Going where, I wondered? I spotted anxious parents waiting at a school gate waiting for their children. Many of them may have taken a break from their work to pick up their kids. The heavy school bags on the tender backs of the students left me thinking: What’s the use of such ‘education’ that tortures kids, and their parents too?
This reel of thoughts kept playing in my mind till I reached home and discovered that I had a severe headache and felt feverish. I popped in a pill!
Now, this is a major point: Whatever happens and is happening anywhere in the world, including on traffic-clogged roads, is in the knowledge of God. Isn’t God in charge of all the affairs of the world? Of course He is”and that’s why He will also help me handle the madness that I see on the roads around me! Why do I need to torment my small head about it and fall sick?
I decided that while I had to frequently travel about in the city I would ask God to join me and handle all things that came my way”whether difficult people or challenging situations or anything else, no matter how ‘small’ it might be. God can handle everything!
My friend Trinkoo recently suggested something very useful: whenever we might need to take a vehicle, be it taxi or an auto, we can pray to God to send us a driver who is His loving devotee! And wonder of wonders, the prayer reaches God at once, and lo and behold, some kind soul is sent by God who will take you to your destination smoothly!
We all face challenging situations every single day. It’s good to keep God as your Caretaker and Guardian in all things, even when you are going out in the streets and get stuck in a traffic jam. Rick Warren, the famous pastor in Saddleback Church, USA, tells us that we need to tell God all our worries and unload them on Him. Pastor Rick advises that we must not worry about anything and that we must pray to God for everything.
Here’s an example: Recently, I had to sit in an air-conditioned room in someone’s office, taking notes for something that I was planning to write. I found it difficult to inform the person whose office it was that the cold was getting to me. After continuing like this for a few days, I requested God to do something so that I did not have to face the air-conditioned room again. Do you know what happened? The next day, much to my relief and delight, the person who I was interviewing decided to sit out in the balcony, overlooking the trees! This was sheer bliss for me, and I thanked God for His help!
Many of us ask God only about putting us in paradise after we die. But God is greater than that! God is our friend, guide, caretaker and the Almighty who can be with us always with us 24 x 7. In this life on earth we will face challenges. The only sensible way to handle them is to turn to God to do so. God is with us everywhere and at every moment, even in our traffic jams! We need to turn our thoughts to Him, and pray to Him to manage things.
God can give us little paradises even on this earth when we pray to Him and ask Him”be it a kind driver or a balcony overlooking a patch of green, saving us from the coldness of man-made air-conditioned structures!
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