Do Business In Deep Waters
Say, “God!” Then leave them to play around in their impious gossip. (Qur’an, 6:91).
If you are going to do anything important in life, there will be oppositions, setbacks, delays, critics. Many people get discouraged and think, “Why this happens to me? Why is God testing just me? Why He asks me to do this?” For example Qur’an says about some people that
when fighting was prescribed for them, behold, a part of them were afraid of people as if fearing God, or were even more afraid, and they said, “Our Lord! Why did You prescribe fighting for us? Why did You not respite us for a short time?!” (Qur’an, 4:77).
It is because you are taking new ground, because you are making progress. When you have big dreams you are going to have big challenges and you will face big problems. You are going in deep water and when you go to deep water, you will see the wonders of God.
In the ocean on the surface, the water is always changing, depending on the wind, the tide, what time of year, even what time of day. It can be very smooth and calm. Later in the day, it can be rough and choppy. When the wind is strong and the tide is just right, there can be ten-foot waves. What is interesting is if you go down about 30 feet deep, the water never changes.
It is calm and still as can be. That is the way you need to be. In life, on the surface, things will always be going on like waves. That is just life. However, deep down in that spirit person you have calmness and peace in your spirit.
If you were an average person then you would have average problems, but here is the key; you are not average. You are not in the shallow waters. God put seeds of greatness in you. He has destined you to leave your mark on this generation. You cannot expect ordinary problems. You are a history maker. You are a world changer. People do not talk about average people. They talk about extraordinary people.
You are a major person and you have a major destiny. The enemy would leave you alone if you were not a major threat. He would not bother you if you did not have something amazing in your future.
We serve an extraordinary God. He can get you to where you are supposed to be. When you are in the deep waters, you are not wasting your time try to convince everyone to like you; win over all your critics; prove to your family members that you really are okay. Everybody is not going to like you; to understand you. Your friends may not celebrate your success. Shake it off and run your race.
Say, “God!” Then leave them to play around in their impious gossip. (Qur’an, 6:91).
And turn away from them and put your trust in God. God is enough for your trust. (Qur’an, 4:81).
You do not have time to go for all that pettiness. You are a history maker. You cannot please every person and please God at the same time. If you please Almighty God, He will take care of your critics. Imam Ali1 (peace be upon him) said, “One who correct, improve and modify between him and God, God will fit and improve between him and the people.”2 You should not fear them but you have to be careful about your Lord.
Do you fear them? However, God is worthier of being feared by you, should you be faithful. (Qur’an, 9:13).
You are not supposed to engage in every battle. You do not have more energy for this. We all love our family but some family members you have to love them from a distance. You have to accept the fact that some people are never going to be for you. Treat them with respect but you do not need their approval to fulfill your destiny. Do not get lured over into the shallow waters trying to prove to them who you are.
Stay in the deep waters. There will always be people trying to pull you into the shallow waters, criticize, find fault, discredit. Do not waste your time with that. Set your face like a flint and run your own race.
So be patient! God’s promise is indeed true. Do not let yourself be upset by those who have no conviction. (Qur’an, 30:60).
Think about Saul. He was chosen to be the next king of Israel. Samuel called them up in front of all the people, and said, “He is our next leader.” Most of the people were happy for Saul but some of his longtime friends did not like Samuel's choice. They began to laugh, make fun, ridicule; “Saul is not going to be our king. Saul does not have what it takes. He is poor.”
The truth is they were jealous of Saul. They were so insecure, so intimidated; they tried to push him down so that they would look bigger, but what did Saul does? He ignored them. He paid them no mind. Because he knew that God has chosen him, so he is the best. He is in deep water.
Qur’an says about this:
“And their prophet said to them: “God has sent Saul to you as a king.” They said, “How can he have the kingship when we are more deserving than him, and he has not been given an abundance of wealth?” He said, “God has chosen him over you and increased him in knowledge and stature. God gives His kingship to whom He chooses; and God is Encompassing, Knowledgeable”.” (Qur’an, 2:247).
Small-minded people will not celebrate you. So do not ever fight battles with small-minded people. Your destiny is too great to be distracted by someone that is small. They are not going where God is taking you. They do not control your destiny God does. They are distractions to try to lure you into the shallow waters to keep you from God’s best. Your assignment is too important; your time is too valuable to be distracted by negative, critical, jealous, small-minded people.
No weapon formed against you will prosper. Because you are honoring Almighty God, trusting Him in the deep waters, God says you will see his wonders. That means his protection, his vindication and his favor.
God is fully aware of your enemies; and God is enough as a supporter, and God is enough as a victor. (Qur’an, 4:45).
Almighty God says, “I am got you in the palm of my hand. You keep your trust in me and no weapon formed against you will prosper.”
Instead of complaining about how big the obstacle is, how somebody is talking about you, well come back to that place of peace. If God be for you, who dare be against you?
If God grants you victory then none can defeat you, and if He abandons you then who can grant you victory after Him? Towards God the believers should put their trust. (Qur’an, 3:160).
You may be up against a big challenge today but that tells me you have a big destiny. The size of your problem is an indication of the size of your future. See the prophets. For example David: He had a big destiny, so God sand him a big problem. God send him to Goliath. Without Goliath, he would still be known as a shepherd boy.
David killed Goliath, and God gave him the kingship and the wisdom and taught him what He wished. (Qur’an, 2:251).
Think about Joseph. He had big challenges. His brothers betrayed him and cast him into the bottom of the well. He went to prison for something that he did not do. However, Almighty God gave him authority in the land. Qur’an says,
“And it was such that We gave Joseph authority in the land, to travel in it as he pleases. We bestow Our mercy upon whom We please, and We do not waste the reward of the good doers.” (Qur’an, 12:56).
After those hard situations, difficulties and problems Joseph became a ruler and a governor, and God preferred him to his brothers. At last, his brothers came to him and asked for forgiveness.
They said, “By God, God Has indeed preferred you over us and we were wrongdoers.” He said, “There is no blame on you this day, may God forgive you, and He is the most Merciful of those who show mercy.” (Qur’an, 12:91-92).
That is the way Almighty God is. If you will stay in faith, God will make the enemy pay for bringing that trouble into your life. The more people try to make you look bad, the better God will make you look.
Think about Moses. Pharaoh killed and slaughtered the sons of The Israelites because they wanted to kill their enemy. However, God inspired Moses’s mother that when you felt he is in danger put him in a chest and cast him into the sea. What happen then? Almighty God saved Moses with his enemy.
Then the people of Pharaoh took him up from the sea so that by God’s will he become their enemy and the source of their grief. (Qur’an, 28:8).
The enemy always fights you the hardest, when you are close to your victory. So when you tempted to get discouraged, sour, go back to the shallow waters, it is never going to work out, it is been too long; that is the time that you have to dig your heels in and say, “I am coming too far to stop now. My God is still on the throne, fighting my battles.”
The forces that are for you are greater than the forces that are against you. Your destiny cannot be stopped by bad breaks, by oppositions, by obstacles. God has the final saying. When you stay in agreement with him, he will get you to where you are supposed to be.
You are in it to win it. Do not let this bad break, this unfair situation, this disappointment steal your dreams. Go to give birth to everything God has placed in your heart. Nothing that you have been through has been wasted. It made you stronger. It helped you develop your character.
So often you are focused on what you lost, how unfair it was. You do not think it is going to change. No, do not name your future based on a negative past. Every day is a new day; God is doing a new thing.
Every day He is engaged in some work. So which of your Lord's bounties will you both deny? (Qur’an, 55:29-30).
The enemy you have seen in the past you will see no more. God has shifted things in your favor. Your attitude should be this is only temporary. He is going to open the new doors of opportunity. This is what David, Moses and other prophets did.
They went through plenty of bad breaks, disappointment, but they did not name their future based on their past. Think about Prophet Muhammad. He was an orphan, but God saved Him and gave Him a manifest victory. He established a big government. God told him:
“Indeed We have inaugurated for you a clear victory.” (Qur’an, 48:1).
God’s honor is heavy on you. You are heavy with God’s favor. God has equipped you, empowered you and no weapon formed against you can prosper. Now pay no mind to the people that are trying to discourage you. God Almighty did not put the promise in them; He put the promise in you. What God started in your life He will finish.
When you honor God like that, He will make more out of your life than you ever imagined. Trust in God and be sure that you will overcome every obstacle, defeat every enemy and become everything that God has created you to be. Know that:
Whoever puts his trust in God, He will suffice him. Indeed God carries through His command. (Qur’an, 65:3).
