Not long ago, we went through a situation called a pandemic.
Wikipedia states:
A pandemic (from the Greek word meaning ‘all the people’) is an extraordinarily severe epidemic that has spread across countries and continents; it is the highest degree of development of the epidemic process. A pandemic is the most dangerous form of an epidemic—one that encompasses the overwhelming majority of the world.
Soon this will affect every family. Our school was opened on March 23, 2020, precisely in response to this event.
We have now come to the most difficult question: How can we be happy when such things are happening all around us?
Wars, diseases, and disasters are what will soon come upon us in full measure. Each of us will have to resist the influence of these currents personally, making wise decisions concerning ourselves.
When each of us personally receives an ultimatum to respond to events the way everyone else does—or else face misunderstanding at first and hatred afterward—difficult times will begin for every student in the School of Love.
But we are building happiness, and this process is too important to abandon by climbing down and immersing ourselves in worldly cares.
We can pray about what is happening, pray with those who suffer and for them, and at the same time share the hope of the better things we possess.
Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The power of His love does not disappear during a crisis. He cares very tenderly for His disciples and desires to use every situation for good—to teach us something and warn us against something.
He seeks to take all our cares—and all my cares—upon Himself, in order to ease our lives and fill them with heavenly values and eternal blessings.
If I enter a house or walk past a construction site with one of you, we will see the reality around us differently.
Having worked in construction for more than twenty-six years, I have been trained to see what is hidden from the eye. As I examine a project, I instinctively try to understand how the structure is supported, which parts are load-bearing, what materials are being used, how the logistics are organized, how safe it is, and much more. I always find this interesting. Where you may see dirt and a ‘crocodile’ made of steel and concrete, I look beyond it and imagine what it will become and how strong it will be. This perception did not come immediately. It gradually became my way of seeing as my knowledge and experience grew. When people join my team who do not understand the laws of construction but have acquired some experience in the trade, many problems arise as I retrain and instruct them. A person must understand what he is building and why it is done one way rather than another.
Building happiness also has its own characteristics and laws. For many years I have studied these questions, compared things, experimented, observed, and identified the pattern I am now sharing with you. My task is to explain, through my own examples and mistakes, how I understand this in the light of the Bible. Yet I am still learning it myself, so I remain open to new discoveries and revelations. I can say that happiness exists and is available. God has it in great abundance, and we can live in it. I can even call it agape happiness. This term does not appear in the Bible, but that is precisely what this happiness is like: eternal and stable. It has very deep roots and reflects God’s character. Feelings and emotions are the final result and the most visible top of the building—or its ‘finishing material’—but the strength of such a structure does not depend on the plaster. Its strength lies underground, firmly binding every part of the structure together.
When we enter the land of happiness, each of us sees its characteristics differently. With experience, the quality and strength of any structure can be determined very easily. But many people pay attention only to the beauty of buildings rather than to their stability.
It is easy to teach those who are willing to learn and eager to test everything in their own lives. Any critical approach slows down the learning process, but at the same time it tests the strength of what is being offered. This, too, has been accounted for in the design.
Do not think that building happiness is very easy. There will always be people who try to weaken your hands.
Read the book of Nehemiah. He was not a prophet, but through his experience and enthusiasm he showed us how to approach God’s work and what we should not do.
Every one of you, dear students, will face severe attacks while building your happiness. These trials will seem natural—simply part of life. They cannot be avoided. But the purpose of the attacks is to prevent you from building, to stop the project, or to cause you to use weak materials in the house.
When loved ones all around us are falling ill and dying, how can anyone speak of happiness? But we must understand that happiness is not merriment, squeals, or exclamations produced by intense emotions. It is a stable state of peace with God and a calm disposition even in the most critical circumstances. It is sound thinking that rests upon God’s promises of help and protection in difficult times. It is trusting reliance upon the Lord’s power, leaving no room for fear, panic, or mental breakdown. This is something we must learn.
If I do not know the laws of happiness, I will behave as I am accustomed to behaving or as I am persuaded to behave by those whom I allow to influence me. The media are very skillful at imposing their opinions on people. Those opinions are not always wrong, but very often they contain things that contradict God’s laws and a believer’s sound judgment.
When I see that my friends are facing extremely difficult problems or trials, I very cautiously invite them, especially at such a time, to learn the laws of happiness and love. I explain that if they learn and understand these things now, they will be able to remain this way always. Very often, such suggestions are met with anger and insults. Yet it is precisely in wartime that training proceeds quickly and accurately. You either lose or win, and you see the result immediately. In peacetime, however, you do not know how strong your little house is or whether it will withstand trials.
The coronavirus pandemic opened new opportunities for God’s influence and closed the doors to the past. The time that existed before these events will not return, and all the opportunities that were missed will not come back. The forces of evil have strengthened their positions in order to defeat God’s children, and everything is now being prepared for this. Our school is one of God’s many instruments for teaching us how to live under these new conditions. Love, happiness, and friendship are leaving this world forever, carrying many believers away with them upon the turbulent waters of fear and anxiety. And who will be able to stand?
Do not think that everything will pass and the world will return to what it was. That will not happen. A new trial will come—one more difficult and more challenging—then another, and afterward Jesus will come to stop everything and everyone who has decided to destroy us. The culmination of the final events brought about by the forces of evil is aimed not at destroying all humanity, but at destroying us, God’s children. Therefore, we should begin resisting the world’s influence now. Love is the best protection and the means of gaining absolute victory in such battles. Happiness is the most militant spirit, guarding me from falling. Friendship is discipline in Christ’s army. And every way of thinking contrary to these things will be destroyed in my mind by God’s hand.
Bible verses for this chapter:
2 Chronicles 7:14; Romans 5:1–5; Daniel 12:1; 1 Peter 1:7–9; Proverbs 20:27; 10:5; 13:16; 22:3–4; 14:5–6; 1 Thessalonians 5:21; 2 Thessalonians 2:3–12; Revelation 14:12; Isaiah 43:11; 30:15, 26