Do You Want Your Troubles to Pass, or Do You Want to Pass WITH Them?

I often say, "Everything passes, and so will your current negative situation. When you are angry or upset, keep in mind that it will pass, so why waste your energy on something that will be gone tomorrow?"

Now you may think, "Wait a minute, does every negative situation really pass? Did your blindness pass?" If that was your line of thoughts, you are not alone--I've had some people bring up similar points.

Certainly, my blindness has not passed, nor have my physical disabilities. The severe juvenile rheumatoid arthritis I've had since infancy will be with me for the rest of my life.

So what do I mean when I say everything will pass when I know that not everything will pass in our current lifetime?

The answer lies in the keyword "current." Not everything will pass in our current lifetime, but everything will be a thing of the past after this lifetime.

"Duh!" you may think now. "Of course everything will be a thing of the past when we die! What good would that do us?"

Sure, when we pass away, our troubles will pass away with us. But the thing is that our life does not really end when we die.

Do I mean an afterlife? Yes, but not the kind you hear where people reincarnate, or enter either heaven or hell immediately after death. Instead, this afterlife happens when everyone is simultaneously raised from death at an appointed time. So we will all see our loved ones who have temporarily been in sleep, even our great-great-great-great-great grandparents.

You see, our life right now is only a tiny fraction of our existence, just the very beginning of eternity. All the problems we face will not exist anymore in our future lifetime. Yes, no more dishonest bosses, no more mothers killing their own children, no more wars, no more hungry children, no more abused elderly people, no more blindness, and no more death! Death will be our last enemy.

So every negativity WILL pass. Therefore, when I run into a stressful situation, I do not let negative emotions control me. Why waste my energy when I know that it will pass tomorrow? It may not pass in ten, twenty, thirty, forty, fifty, sixty, or even seventy years; but it sure will be gone for good when I wake up after my final rest!

When will this appointed time come, when everyone will be raised from their death? No one knows, not even the angels in the heaven; only Jehovah God knows. He has long ago set a specific time when those who hear Jesus Christ's voice will wake up.

What a great event! But how is this possible? How could everyone embrace an everlasting life?

This is possible because Jesus has redeemed us using his blood. God sacrificed His beloved Son so He can grant us salvation.

Salvation is a beautifully wrapped present given to us freely by Jehovah. It is not something we earn. It is something we can humbly accept and gratefully keep.

"Who wouldn't want to keep this gift?" you may ask in wonderment. Surprisingly, many people do not value this gift enough, thus they abandon it.

Let us say you give your good friend a new puppy as a birthday present. He has always wanted one, and you thought that he would really take good care of it. But when you return to his home a month later, you are shocked to find that the puppy is malnourished. So you took the puppy back to be your own dear pet.

This is the same case with us. God has given us a most wonderful gift, yet we do a very poor job keeping it. Some abuser of this gift will eventually lose it.

How can we ensure that we can keep God's gift? We can keep it only if we change our old bad habits to embrace a good way of living. So if your fictional friend in the above story apologizes for the mistreatment of the puppy and says that he will do his best to care for it from now on, you can see if he will keep his word by permitting him to care for the puppy again.

Change is not impossible. It just takes a clear focus and a strong heart to pursue the change. So if you do not like your way of living, change it! Repenting now and having faith in Jesus Christ as your Savior will ensure your entrance into a brand-new eternal life.

What does it take for you to repent? What does repentance really involve?

Let's say you shoplifted at your local Wal-Mart store. To repent for your action, you need to:

1. Admit that shoplifting is wrong

2. Feel sorry that you shoplifted.

3. And never shoplift again.

When you have truly repented, Jehovah will forgive you. He clearly states in His Holy Scriptures, "I have no pleasure in the death of the wicked; but that the wicked turn from his way and live: turn ye, turn ye from your evil ways." (Ezekiel 33:11, American Standard Version) His grace was illustrated in the book of Jonah, where God forgave Nineveh, a great city of over 120,000 people, when they repented.

But you have to truly repent. The keyword is "truly." True repentance means that you stick to this step: never do the wrong again. Sincere repentance involves a change of one's ways, not simply a change of one's attitude. Feeling sorry for the wrong you did is meaningless if that regret does not affect your future actions. If you repeat the same error again, it means you have not repented.

Once we turn to the right path, we must be careful to stick to it. To take our old route again will make our travel more arduous than it was before we found the right path. God warned us, "When the righteous turneth from his righteousness, and committeth iniquity, he shall even die therein. And when the wicked turneth from his wickedness, and doeth that which is lawful and right, he shall live thereby." (Ezekiel 33:18-19)

But remember, repentance is not enough. You need to embrace Jesus and his teachings, which are God's teachings and apply them to your daily living, in order to bring fruit to your changed life. Where can you find his teachings? Why, in the Bible, of course!

If you know that you have been keeping God's gift well, then continue on your golden road!

Would you like to have your troubles pass and live a happy lasting life? Or would you rather pass along with your troubles? It is completely up to you.

Do you need help? Guidance? Do you have questions about the Bible? Are you having trouble understanding God's teachings and His Word? Confused about salvation and what it's all about? Then I'm here to help! Please do not hesitate to contact me via my site http://www.shirleycheng.com

(Partially excerpted from Do You Love Jehovah? God Almighty's Infinite Love & Wisdom to Propel You to Greatness by Shirley Cheng. © by Shirley Cheng; all rights reserved.)