[AkhirZaman.org] Sering kali pada saat kejadian yang tidak menyenangkan menimpa, kita bertanya-tanya mengapa TUHAN membiarkan hal itu terjadi? Terlebih bila selama ini kita merasa telah menjadi anak Allah yang baik. Mengapa hal-hal buruk masih terjadi pada kita? Ada peristiwa-peristiwa dalam hidup kita yang sulit dimengerti pada saat kita mengalaminya.
Kita hanya dapat berpasrah padaNYA, percaya bahwa DIA tidak akan memberikan yang buruk kepada kita (bdk Yer 29:11).
Ilustrasi di bawah ini mungkin dapat membantu kita memahami bahwa sebenarnya di balik “kemalangan” itu ada berkat yang tersamar, yang belum kita sadari pada saat itu.
Ada sebuah kisah tentang seorang raja yang mempunyai seorang teman baik. Temannya ini punya kebiasaan berkomentar, “Ini bagus!” atas semua situasi dalam hidupnya, positif maupun negatif. Suatu hari Sang Raja dan temannya pergi berburu. Temannya mempersiapkan dan mengisikan peluru untuk senapan Sang Raja. Kelihatannya Sang Teman melakukan kesalahan dalam mempersiapkan senjata tersebut, karena setelah raja menerima senapan itu dari temannya, senapan itu meletus dan mengenai jempolnya. Seperti biasa Sang Teman berkomentar, ” Ini bagus!”, yang oleh raja dijawab, “Tidak, ini tidak bagus!” dan raja tersebut menjebloskan temannya ke penjara.
Kurang lebih setahun kemudian, Sang Raja pergi berburu ke daerah yang berbahaya. Ia ditangkap oleh sekelompok orang kanibal, kemudian dibawa ke desa mereka. Mereka mengikat tangannya dan menumpuk kayu bakar, bersiap untuk membakarnya. Ketika mereka mendekat untuk menyalakan kayu tersebut, mereka melihat bahwa Sang Raja tidak mempunyai jempol. Karena percaya pada tahayul, mereka tidak pernah makan orang yang tidak utuh. Jadi mereka membebaskan raja itu. Dalam perjalanan pulang, raja tersebut ingat akan kejadian yang menyebabkan dia kehilangan jempolnya dan merasa menyesal atas perlakuannya terhadap teman baiknya. Raja langsung pergi ke penjara untuk berbicara dengan temannya. “Kamu benar, ” katanya, “baguslah bahwa aku kehilangan jempolku.” Dan ia menceritakan kejadian yang baru dialaminya kepada temannya itu. “Saya menyesal telah menjebloskan kamu ke penjara begitu lama. Saya telah berlaku jahat kepadamu.” “Tidak,” kata temannya,”Ini bagus!”. “Apa maksudmu, ‘Ini bagus!’? Bagaimana bisa bagus, aku telah mengirim kamu ke penjara selama satu tahun.” Temannya itu menjawab, “Kalau kamu tidak memenjarakan aku, aku tadi pasti bersamamu.”
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Kehilangan jempol ataupun kebebasan karena di penjara bukanlah hal yang menyenangkan. Namun karena 2 peristiwa itulah, Sang Raja dan temannya tidak menemui ajalnya dalam peristiwa tahun berikutnya. Demikian pula dalam hidup kita, ada peristiwa yang menyebabkan kita kehilangan materi, mata pencaharian bahkan orang yang kita kasihi. Tentu saja itu membuat kita sedih, kesal, marah, bahkan menggugat TUHAN karenanya. Beberapa di antara kita mengalami pergumulan batin yang panjang karena penolakan kita atas kejadian yang tidak menyenangkan ini. Ada yang menolak begitu keras, sehingga menjauh dari TUHAN.
Namun jika kita dapat mengikuti sikap teman raja di atas, yang secara positif menerima setiap peristiwa baik maupun buruk dalam hidup kita, niscaya suatu hari nanti kita akan menyadari adanya berkat-berkat yang tersamar dalam setiap peristiwa yang kita alami.
Jadi, seperti kata Anthony de Mello, marilah belajar untuk berkata “YA” terhadap setiap peristiwa dalam hidup kita. “YA” berarti menerima tanpa syarat segala sesuatu yang direncanakan TUHAN dalam hidup ini. Pada saatnya nanti, kita akan dapat “melihat” berkat-berkat yang tersamar dalam berbagai peristiwa di kehidupan kita; karena TUHAN bekerja dengan caraNYA yang misterius, yang tidak terselami oleh keterbatasan akal kita.
Stands apart from similar pages by actually being useful, that is high praise these days, and a look at cameranexus kept that standard going, you can tell when a site is built around the reader versus around metrics and this one clearly belongs to the first category for sure based on what I read.
Thanks for treating the topic with the seriousness it deserves without becoming pompous about it, and a stop at deliverynexus continued that balanced treatment, the gap between earnest and self serious is huge and writers who can stay on the right side of it earn my respect when I find them online today.
Started thinking about my own writing differently after reading, and a look at merrynights continued that reflective effect, content that influences how I work rather than just informing what I know is content with the highest kind of impact and this site has triggered some of that reflective influence today on me.
A piece that suggested careful editing without showing the marks of the editing, and a look at nexoravision continued that invisible polish, the best editing disappears into the prose and this site reads as having been edited with skill that does not announce itself which is the highest compliment I can offer any blog content.
Found a small mental shift after reading this, the framing here is just a bit different from the standard takes online, and a look at festiveglow extended that fresh perspective across more material, the rare site whose voice actually changes how you think about something rather than just confirming existing beliefs.
Bookmark folder created specifically for this site, and a look at growthsignalhub confirmed the dedicated folder was the right call, dedicated folders for individual sites are a level of organisation I rarely deploy and this site has earned that level of dedicated tracking based on the consistency I have seen so far across sessions.
Useful read, especially because the writer did not assume too much background from the reader, and a quick look at clarityguidesexecution continued in the same way, a thoughtful site that meets people where they are which is something the modern web could use a lot more of for both casual and serious readers.
Will be coming back to this for sure, too much good content to absorb in one sitting, and a stop at progresswithoutpressure only added more pages I want to dig through, this site is going onto my regular rotation list because it consistently delivers something worth the visit lately rather than empty filler.
Bookmark folder reorganised slightly to make this site easier to find, and a look at directionovereffort earned the same accessibility upgrade, the small organisational moves I make for sites I expect to return to often are themselves a signal of how much I trust them and this site triggered those moves naturally.
Stayed longer than planned because each section earned the next, and a look at visionguidesmotion kept that pulling effect going across more pages, the kind of subtle pull that good writing exerts on attention is something I find harder and harder to resist when I encounter it on the open web today.
Honest take is that this was better than I expected when I clicked through, and a look at actiondrivenvelocity reinforced that, the bar for online content has dropped so much that finding something thoughtful and well constructed feels almost noteworthy now which says more about the average than about this site itself.
Reading this prompted me to send the link to two different people for two different reasons, and a stop at brightdebate provided ammunition for a third share, content that suits multiple audiences without being generic enough to be useless to any of them is genuinely valuable and this site has that multi audience quality clearly.
Picked this up while looking for something else and ended up reading every paragraph because it was actually informative, and after focusshapesresults I was sure I would come back, that does not happen often when most sites bury the useful parts under endless ads and pop ups today and across most categories online.
A particular kind of restraint shows up in the writing, and a look at buildmomentumintelligently maintained the same restraint across pages, knowing what not to say is just as important as knowing what to say and this site has clearly developed strong instincts on both sides of that editorial line throughout pieces I have read.
Speaking honestly this is among the better discoveries of my recent browsing, and a stop at progresswithdirectionalforce reinforced that discovery quality, the ranking of recent discoveries is informal but meaningful and this site has placed near the top of that ranking based on the consistency of quality across what I have already read carefully.
Decided this was the best thing I had read all morning, and a stop at coilcolt kept that ranking intact, ranking my reading is something I do mentally throughout the day and the top rank is competitive and not easily won but this site won it without needing to overstate its claims for that.
This one is staying open in a tab for the rest of the day so I can come back and re read certain parts, and a look at dewcarve suggests I will be doing the same with a few more pages here too, this is going to be a deep dive over the coming hours.
Now organising my browser bookmarks to give this site easier access, and a look at missionsaveher earned the same organisational priority, the small acts of digital housekeeping I do for sites I expect to use often are themselves a measure of trust and this site has triggered the trust based housekeeping behaviour from me clearly.