The God of Our Choice
The philosophy of believing in and acknowledging the facts that resonate with our taste and choice is the main hindrance in the way of enjoying life in all its colors, and in attaining absolute peace of mind. We have developed and installed this philosophy as the operating system of our mind and behaving accordingly. We only accept those facts and things that are in keeping with our desires and mood.
I remember a short story related to such behavior. It is about a bird that had injured wings and was stuck outside of a window frame of a building. Behind it was a sheet of the closed window glass, and before it was deep sheer space. It was afraid to take the plunge because it doubted the support from its injured wings. It waited long for someone to open the window so that it may get in there safely, but all the wait went in vain, and none did come. Now the bird was afraid, and it had no choice other than to jump.
Here the bird thought that if God existed, then He might help it, so the bird looked up to the sky and prayed: “If there is any God up there, please give me a signal what to do.”
The bird suddenly heard some faint voice from a source deep within it, the voice of his conscience. It said, “If you believe in God, then let go. Take the plunge.”
Now the bird remained silent while looking at the deep hollow space beneath it. After much reflection, it looked again to the sky, desperate to deny the truth, and asked, “Is there is any other God up there?”
We see that the bird wanted a God who should have suggested not to take the plunge because the bird was afraid and did not want to take the plunge. The bird wanted God’s choice to align with its own.
We humans are not so different from this bird. We want things done as we want them to, not that is planned best by God for us. We do not want to face facts and realities; we just want things done according to our desires. We are impatient, and living in an era where everything runs on fast delivery service, we have increasingly assumed our consumer behavior when we turn to God.
This behavior is the philosophy I referred at the start. The philosophy of accepting only those facts which are seemingly feel good for us, but not necessary are good for us. To believe in God is to believe in His Will. It is trying our best and leaving the matter in His Hands. It is taking your worries, wants, and concerns to Him and relying on Him even when you don’t understand or get your answers right away.
Do you think humans are truly capable of deciding what is good for them and for everyone else? Or is God the superior being capable of making perfect decisions and plans? Having faith in Him is to understand our relationship with God. It is to understand and accept that God does not owe us explanations, nor does He owe us to fulfill our list of demands. He is independent of us and our needs, yet He bestows us with countless blessings, forgives us, listens to us, and sustains us.
So next time you stumble upon something too scary, too worrisome, too difficult for you to manage, turn to Him, the only one that truly listens and can change your situation. Leave everything up to Him and free yourself from the burden of planning everything to attain true inner peace.
Written by Hilal Khan and Areej Saqib.
