Achieving Tranquility of Mind - [1] Signs of the Fluctuation of a Servant's Faith.

Sometimes it feels like too much - the ups and downs of our faith, the recurring sins, the feeling that "I don't deserve God's grace." Trials always feel like punishments. There are constant worries about the future: my marriage, my money, my career, my ummah (society)... And some difficulties feel like they're too great to overcome. We know we shouldn't ask these questions, but the question in the back of our minds is, "Why me?"

We've all heard that we shouldn't give up on God's Grace. And on the surface, we try not to, but Satan (Satan) has a trick up his sleeve. We tend to give up on ourselves and our inability to change things, especially the inner turmoil we feel. And the effect is essentially the same as giving up on God's grace. We don't always accept that God can get us out of the situations we're in and that we don't have to 'deserve' the problems; God isn't punishing us and we don't have to be perfect.

However, this doesn't mean that we shouldn't try, or take ourselves seriously when we mess up. The key is to build our relationship with God during the hardship. If we know God, there is no such thing as despair. There is no permanent sadness. We see trials as they should be seen – as tests of our faith in God, forcing us to practice our knowledge and drawing us closer to Him. These trials can also potentially be punishments, if we allow them to negatively affect us by actually turning away from Him because of our sadness. But our awareness of our own situation and our understanding of God’s Mercy allow us to transform the punishment into something positive that is expressed through repentance to God, while increasing our good deeds to cancel out the bad.

The first exercise is to consciously realize that God is All-Knowing. Whatever sorrow we go through, whatever hardship we face, we must understand that we are never alone. Even when we feel abandoned by the world and those closest to us, God is there. He reminds us in the Quran,

قَالَ لَا تَخَافَآ ۖ إِنَّنِى مَعَكُمَآ أَسْمَعُ وَأَرَىٰ ٤٦

"Do not be afraid, indeed I am with you both, I hear and see."

(Surah Taha: Ayat 46)

As long as we begin by recognizing that God is with us and that He is close to us, there are solutions to our inner worries. There are things we need to know to develop our relationship with God. Then there are things we need to do to maintain that closeness with God. And finally, there are things we need to aspire to in order to achieve the ideal relationship with our God. We pray that by the end of this series, we will all have developed a stronger relationship with God. Note: some of us suffer from clinical depression or similar medical conditions, and these need to be addressed by a professional. Working on our relationship with God is undoubtedly helpful, but sometimes more than .spiritual repair may be needed.