you can't just wait around

I just wanna share something interesting i learnt during Usrah. You've probably heard about it too, but  i'm sure there's no harm in reading about it again and being reminded.

If you think about the creation of man, nature, the sky, the clouds, the sun, the planet, the galaxy, the solar system, the universe and every single atom within and outside of it, you would realize that God can create anything and everything and can make things happen for you if He chooses to. If He can create the universe, why would He not be able to give you something you want? Whatever you desire would be next to nothing compared to what He is capable of giving you.

If you look at the tales being told in the Quran; for example Moses' tale when he was running away from Pharaoh, where God told him to strike the sea with his staff for him and his followers to escape.

"We then inspired Moses: "Strike the sea with your staff," whereupon it parted. Each part was like a great hill. " - Surah Asy-Syu'ara' [26:63]

Another example can be seen from Mary's tale, when she already gave birth to Isa and God told her to shake the date tree for ripe dates to fall, so that she could feed herself after she gave birth.

"If you shake the trunk of this palm tree, it will drop ripe dates for you." - Surah Maryam [19:25}

The similarity between these two examples is that God told both to DO something for them to be helped. Now, if God could create anything and everything, couldn't He just have made the sea divide for Moses without him needing to strike it with his staff? Couldn't God have shaken the tree for Mary for the dates to fall, without her needing to shake the tree herself? Yes, yes He could have.

But He chose not to, even though He clearly could have done so.

Reflecting on these stories and many others, i learnt that if you want something to happen for yourself, then you can't just wait around for it to happen without doing anything. Everything requires effort. God really can give you what you want, but He chooses not to if you don't even try to get it with your own efforts.

A popular relatable example is in our studies. How can we get good results if we don't even put in the effort to study in the first place? In addition to that, of course we need to also pray and leave it to God as well as try our best.

In cases where you have tried your best and have prayed and tawakkal and everything but you still don't get what you want, we have to remember that God's plans are always greater than ours. We're not capable to see our future and straightaway realise the perfect sequence of God's plans for us. But what we can do is trust that God is doing His job as our Creator, and when we finally reach the point of His plans it is then that we'll realise how it all makes sense, how God has been helping you all along after all.

I'm sure many of you can relate with your own personal experiences and life. I know that i can, and its with those experiences that i'm able to trust Him even more.

I guess that's all. Do correct me if i've gotten any facts wrong :)