On Letting Go

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What does it really mean to let go? Let go, meaning to get over a hurt that would otherwise turn into something destructive. How does forgiving someone sound – say, in prayer form? To let go and let God is one of the reasons it is hard to be a Christian because the nature of the flesh is to take revenge and fight for one’s right which is the more popular option in the secular world since it seems reasonable and intelligent. However, the Bible tells us that, “There is a path before each person that seems right, but it ends in death.” (Proverbs 14:12) Defending one’s self sometimes becomes Satan’s subtle tool to make the believer lose trust in God. It is the non-verbal articulation of the soul that God will not defend them, so they must do it themselves. Many times, the believer does not even know they have fallen into this pit simply because they have not really pondered upon the situation – and mostly, due to lack of insight that could have come from spending time in the Word. So one, instead operates on the secular principle of justice. However, if one claims to be a Bible-believing Christian, he or she will live out the Biblical truth that true justice can only come from God (“Do not take revenge, my dear friends, but leave room for God's wrath, for it is written: "It is mine to avenge; I will repay," says the Lord.” – Romans 12:19). If the believer truly believes that there is a God who will one day judge everyone then he or she should be all set in terms of fighting back. It is better said than done, though. This is why when hurt and disappointed, we must turn to God first – not to Facebook, not to our friends, but to God.

“Lord, this hurt is too much for me to bear and I feel like defending myself. However, you are my ultimate defender and so I turn over this hurt to you. I forgive (the offender’s name) as an act of obedience to you. Give me wisdom on how to deal with him or her or the situation.”

To let go and choose forgiveness over revenge is like putting down all your weapons before God and allowing Him to fight for you (“Some trust in chariots and some in horses, but we trust in the name of the LORD our God.” – Psalms 20:7). It does not come from a place of insecurity or self-pity, but from a fervent faith in His command (“Be merciful, just as your Father is merciful.” – Luke 6:36).  

Most importantly, one must come from the place of an intimate relationship with God, from the belief that even though everything else is failing, it is well with one’s soul.

Let go. Let God.

Praying By Who God Is

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We are sometimes tempted to pray in the spirit of reminding God how good we have been for the past few days, past few months or even all our lives. We are tempted to think that perhaps God will be more favorable to us, more likely to say “Yes” to our prayers because of the many ways we think we have been obedient to Him. Yet this could be another form of pride, another way of buying God’s approval of our petitions. The truth is, yes God will bless our obedience and will certainly reward our faithfulness yet He will still bless us according to what He deems is good for us and for the accomplishment of His sovereign purpose. Our prayer in the first place is not a ticket to the fulfillment of OUR agenda, but of GOD’S. Prayer is first of all a realignment of our hearts and souls to His divine will so that we are made more united with Him. Prayer is not just for petition, it is for our relationship with Him. Therefore, our prayers should not tap on OUR goodness and OUR faithfulness but on GOD’s alone. (May 23, 2013)

My Trip to Busan, Korea

I went to Busan, Korea for an international CCC conference 2 years ago.

If you wonder why I only wrote about it now, memory stimulated by pictures perhaps or must be the weather. I went there in summer but I had to borrow a friend's thick coat because it felt like January in the Philippines.

Korea, with all its fresh air, uncrowded places, surprisingly organized garbage segregation system (papers, bottles, food, etc are separate groups) and strict traffic rules and regulations had just one downside i took notice of: no blue sky that it felt as though a storm was coming. What with the cold air and all.

Korean culture is very evident in the conference. Spicy vegetables (Bibimbap) for lunch; corn tea as beverage (that my roommates found me weird for liking it); lots of bows and Anyong Haseyo's, and of course the Pali-pali (hurry up!hurry up!) culture.

Because I made friends with Americans, I was forced to create a facebook account. At first, I couldn't see the point of having another online community account when I was well and good with friendster (which I don't use anymore today) but due to friends' relentless requests, I signed up for facebook in July, 2007, even before most of my friends knew such exists and that it is way better than the other one (sorry...).

There were about 16,000 of us from all over the world but none of us (as far as I'm concerned) had a problem with food or water shortage. There were just enough and more for every single person there. The subways were allowed for free use for us by the mayor of Busan (who spoke on the first night) and Korean civilians especially vendors watched curiously as about thousands of students of different color and language walked the streets nearby Hae Eun Dae Beach to one of the country’s biggest activity complexes: BEXCO. It is as probably thrice as big as Araneta Coliseum (correct me if I am wrong, though). And despite all the tedious, meticulous and laborious preparations: Hanbok Fashion Show, Parade of Nations, Korean Culture exhibits, hundreds of seminars that were up for the week, there was no report of a stampede, or a person lost.

Organized is an understatement. Every detail was carefully planned, including seminars that were translated to about 10 different languages and transmitted to local frequency bands in the area (though, I don’t think this is small detail); freebies, announcements and big things like plane tickets , bus rides (that were very comfortable as the bus rode smoothly along city roads without traffic jam, you wonder if there are any cars in Busan or the mayor stopped people from using them that week) and grouping people together in hotels.

Luckily, our group was housed in probably one of the best hotels available: Sea Cloud, a five star hotel that overlooks Hae Eun Dae Beach, one of those beaches situated in a city with lots of tourists and commercial gimmicks and where Busan Aquarium was located where we chanced to gaze at marine life with verbal and non-verbal wow's.

You could see fish you could have only seen in diving spots or in the movie, Finding Nemo or Jaws; penguins and seals and dugongs you could have watched eat live fish only in National Geographic, marine animals that emit light in water and giant jelly fish and octopus that will make you feel safe about the sign: For Your Eyes Only.

Watching those made me wonder what else I could see in the future and those I never will.

Memories in South Korea still fascinated me days after I arrived in Manila. Awed by their clean, efficient and organized systems, I secretly wished we would experience the same in the Philippines. But it was a Christian conference I went to and one of the things I learned there was the power of prayer. Korean Christians are known to pray a lot. Many great changes in their country have been brought about by the sincere cry of Christians to God.

I am not a Korean and I have my own way of praying but I sure know God listens to me. I decide I would not only wish, I would pray. With the power of prayer, who knows.