What If …

A lady called me and told me a sad thing that had happened to her recently. She suffered a lot from physical, verbal, and mental domestic violence. By the last violence of her husband, she got two broken ribs and a thick bruise on half of her face. She said she decided to divorce her husband this time.

It was five years ago when she told me about how her husband treated her. It was not deniable that she was a victim of domestic violence. So I went to a police department in the town she lived and asked what to do for her. The police officer got upset about her situation and told me in detail what she should do. I related it to her and ensured she understood what to do. After that, however, she left my wife and me suddenly and didn’t communicate with us any longer. When I checked on her, she said she was doing well to sound cool. I could sense that she meant it. So, I thought they became good and had peace between themselves.

They were not too bad for a while after the husband got cancer. She helped him go to the doctor’s office, take surgery, and receive chemo treatments. But, unfortunately, after he recovered health, his violence toward her resumed, and it became more severe. He threatened her to death, choking her neck and hitting her almost daily. She tried to fight back but only to make his violence more severe and last longer. The previous violence was the most serious. It happened in front of their house. Some neighbors saw it and called the police. He was jailed for two weeks and will be on trial soon.

She apologized to me that she was stupid not to do anything when I helped her five years ago. However, that was not a thing to apologize to me. I was so sorry for what she had been going through. What if she had listened to the police officer and had done what she had to do to live peacefully five years ago? This idea reminded me of what I realized over many years of my faith life. What if I had believed God as the word of God says from the first time? Why, only after having suffered so much, have I obeyed the word of God exactly as it says?

There is no other way than to obey the truth. But accepting and following the truth needs courage, endurance, and perseverance. Sometimes we must sacrifice what seems good to us to keep up with the truth. So, we naively believe or even deceive ourselves that it would be okay not to accept and follow the truth. In those times, we felt there was a way around the truth. But, despite the belief or deception, there was no way around the truth that might give us the peace and happiness we wanted. So, we have to be smarter to know this truth.

As much we obey the word of God, so much do we enjoy the promises of the word of God. Obedience to the word of God is the only way for humans to live as peacefully and happily as they want. There is no other way than obedience to the word of God to avoid unhappiness and turmoil in our lives. Therefore the best thing to do is surrender ourselves to God and live up to His words right now. We don’t have to wait, trying to find a way around, because there is no such a way.