The good news

First published in Daily Tribune under Anthony Vivero's Vibes and Vision dated March 23, 2009.

All sources of information — radio, television, newspaper and now the Internet — often give us more problems than solutions, anxiety rather than peace. It seems good news is nowhere to be found these days. Very rarely do we get news that brings even a glimpse of hope. But wait! There is still good news! All we have to do is read and understand it.

TRUST

“Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding: In all your ways, acknowledge Him and He will make paths straight.” — Proverbs 3:5

We cannot trust our political leaders to lead us the right way for they themselves don’t know what they are doing; we cannot trust our neighbors with our small problems because most of the time they are our problem; we cannot trust religious leaders for they themselves are the wolves in sheep’s clothing, feeding on their own flocks; we cannot trust people in uniform who are suppose to look after our welfare, but end up abusing our given rights.

We can only trust the Lord God. And we must do it in mind, body, and spirit with all our hearts and believe that whatever is happening now, we are still safe in the hands of the Lord. Our situation today is not that good but still not hopeless. When everything had been tried and failed, trust in the Lord and He will never let us fail.

My school days

It was my grandmother who taught me to place my full trust in the Lord. My entire life as a student, I would always get a reminder from the school administration to get clearance for the exams. No tuition fee payment, no test for me — that was the rule. I would always cry and feel discouraged to prepare for the exams. I felt it was useless to review, certain I would not be able to take the tests.

But my Lola, who took care of me as a child, would always tell me, “Pray and sleep early, tomorrow you will get that money for your tuition fee, for the Lord will provide us what we need.” She would constantly remind me to keep that trust in God during those early years.

And never did I miss any exam in my life as a student. She always managed to wake me up early in the morning and give me the money for my tuition fee. I was really amazed, and because of those experiences, I believed and kept that trust in God. He will never forsake me, though His help always come in the nick of time. Why? Maybe because God wants us to feel that He is the one providing us with the things we need, as long as we keep that trust in Him.

FAITH

“With men it is impossible; but to God nothing is impossible.” — Mathew 19:26

Story of two brothers

They got orphaned early in life and because of this, they depended on each other for survival. The elder brother had to take care of the younger one at all costs. The younger brother had to follow every word and advice of his elder brother.

Life was not easy, as other people, especially relatives, gave them a hard time. Yet they stood firm and remained faithful to each other and their dreams. Without each other’s knowledge, they kept praying to the Lord for success in life, not just for themselves but for their parents who had passed away too soon. The older brother prayed that he would be able to support and finance the schooling of his brother, who took up Law. The younger one, without telling his older brother, believed that God would provide him knowledge and patience in the long years of studying.

The elder brother would even skip meals and take all kinds of jobs to finance his brother’s college expenses. The younger one, for his part, tried as hard to make both ends meet by being frugal and studying really well just so he could finish his schooling with flying colors. Faith was the only thing they had in their lives and in their hearts. They were trying to accomplish the impossible, as others would say.

Finally, the younger brother got his Law degree. The only stumbling block was the Bar examinations to finally seal the dream of being a full-fledged lawyer. While it seemed that they were on the road to success, the younger brother failed the exam.

His older bother never questioned the Lord, but thanked Him for the opportunity He had given to them instead. He did not even cry. He knew that God was still there for them. The younger brother was devastated with his failure, but not for long. He was again on his feet to take another chance at passing the Bar.

All they had now was faith in the highest level. They had nothing to lose because they had failed once and they had nobody to depend on but the Lord. During the entire period of waiting for the Bar exam results, they intensified their faith in the Lord — that He would be the one to deliver it to them. According to the younger brother, the second Bar examination was much harder compared with the first. It was now all in the hands of the Lord.

Younger brother passed the bar. Tears flowed uncontrollably, especially from his older brother. They knew that the sacrifice was over. Though the sacrifice weighed heavily on them, that faith in the Lord held them together. They had nothing more in their pockets, nothing much in life. When the results came out, they had nothing but faith that He would never forsake them — and the Lord never did.

To be successful in life, it has been proven that men are better having nothing than having no faith at all.

Please send comments or suggestions to anthonyvivero@yahoo.com and anthonyvivero@hotmail.com.