How is this supposed to work? How can you experience a crisis when you're connected to God?
Imagine living every day in communion, in prayer with God. He is the centre of everything, yet you stumble into a crisis?
How can that be? It makes no sense. Is it even possible? Why, how, what's going on?
Many people might ask themselves such questions. Life has crystal-clear laws that apply to us all. The only difference is who understands these laws better, worse, or not at all.
So how does a crisis come about, even though you are connected to God, the Holy Spirit, and the Source through prayer, and should, in theory, be safe?
The simple answer: life isn't that simple. God and prayer, Jesus – these are the centre of everything, the most important things. Daily prayer helps to stabilise the spirit and make better decisions. Yet, that's the theory, and then there's the practice.
In practice, we are guided by God and the Holy Spirit. But not in the way we imagine, rather in the way that is best for us.
To put it plainly, you can still end up in a crisis despite prayer. It simply means that while you maintained the connection, your practical actions weren't quite right.
Many prayers often stem from wishes and needs. But what is truly good for us in life might be something entirely different.
We must act in a way that aligns with the Spirit of God. If we merely bask in prayer and God's love, yet act selfishly and wrongly, life will teach us a lesson. Regardless of the theory, practice will correct us.
If you're in a crisis, there's only one way out: you must conduct a clear analysis. Why am I where I am now, and what can I do to avoid this situation again?
God sometimes educates us with challenges so that we improve and grow stronger. This can be painful, but ultimately, we grow from it, and the challenges can become easier.
However, if you don't recognise the signs in the crisis you're in, you'll keep encountering new situations, and things could even get worse. We must be honest with ourselves, go back to the beginning, and recognise what brought us here, and what we can do to free ourselves from this predicament.
This process of working through things, of finding a way out, can be done very well in prayer. All open questions, all fears, can be laid before God in prayer, and the answers help – even if painful – to find the way out, and more importantly, the turning point, the beginning for something new.
In truth, those who stick to the truth will quickly realise that even bad things are very important in life, indeed, that we can grow more from adversity than from good fortune.
With God or without God, the sun shines on all people; the laws are the same for everyone. And yet, through prayer and connection with the Holy Spirit and Jesus, we have everything in our hands to live the best possible life.
God is love, and whoever is in God is in love. This power helps us to bear the harshness of the material world, so much so that we can become an example for our fellow human beings.
We are made to improve ourselves. By serving life, we do what is right, usually through our interactions with others, with tasks, services, and meaningful contributions in our environment, towards ourselves and everyone else.
It's unlikely to be about simply becoming carelessly rich, fulfilling all our needs in abundance, living only in the best of the best, and suppressing all that is bad and negative.
In short, and in one sentence: Pray without ceasing, do good, be thankful, and keep your ego in check. Then there will be less pain, there's no need to anticipate disaster, and your soul will be best served.
As written elsewhere, time and again, the most important and truest currency in our lives is a good soul, the true meaning of life.
In that spirit, I wish everyone in every crisis the best possible growth, and that the path be cleared for an even more grateful life in the name of the Greatest, Jesus Christ the Redeemer, who has already borne all our pains and fears for us, thereby clearing the way for us, at Golgotha.
Everyone will experience their personal Golgotha; practically no one will experience one as hard as Jesus Christ. He paid the hardest price for us, and with the resurrection, he shows us the way home.
He is the way, the truth, and the life.
So be it.