Why Are You Terrified?

We try our best to live comfortable and enjoyable lives, but bad things happen. Life can often be tough, and some people suffer a lot of pain in this life. I pray to God that my family and I all live happy and healthy lives, but that’s not always the case.

No matter how hard we try, we end up getting sick and hurt. If we live long enough, we will see our loved ones die as well. It’s nice to read Matthew 7:7, which says, “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you.” However, this is not always the case. We pray for God to heal someone, but prayers don’t always work the way we want them to. When my daughter was born, she was gravely ill. I prayed to God to save her and even asked Him to take years off of my life and give them to her. However, she ended up passing away at two days old. I was devastated and disappointed, but I didn’t lose faith in God.

God loves us and always wants what’s best for us. In His infinite wisdom, He knows what’s best. We may not agree with God as to what’s best, but we need to trust Him. So how can losing our loved one be what’s best? The answer is that it’s not always what’s best, but God still allows it.

The gift of free will is a significant factor at play that affects the lives of others. God blessed us all with free will and this allows us to choose to do both good and evil. One person can do something, either intentionally or unintentionally, that could cause another person harm or death. If God were to prevent all deaths, He would be infringing on His gift of free will.

God can see what would happen to the timeline if certain events were to happen. God doesn’t seek to kill someone, but sometimes allowing death to take place brings about a greater good in the end. Perhaps the death of my daughter is what caused me to get serious about what’s truly important in life and ultimately gets me to Heaven. Perhaps, that also causes a chain reaction of other people getting to Heaven as well. There’s a lot we won’t know until we meet God at the end of time.

It’s hard to trust God when we are going through turbulent waters. Jesus’s disciples even woke Jesus up during the storm and asked Him, “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Even with Jesus in the boat with them, they still didn’t trust Him. If we truly believe that Jesus is who He says He is and He is with us in a boat, why would we be scared if the seas get turbulent? Why would we be scared if something bad happens to us in this life while Jesus is with us? If we believe in the real presence of Jesus in the Eucharist, Jesus is with us and in us at every Mass.

Continue to ask, seek, and knock. Know that God wants to give us great things and trust that He knows what’s best. It’s good to be quiet and still sometimes. Let’s not try to micromanage every detail in our lives, but listen to Jesus and put our trust in Him.