Some people want to have very placid and steady lives. They dream to lead the life they are accustomed to without facing sudden and surprise developments, big ups and downs, until the end of their lives.
Of course the reason of this preference of the mentioned people is that they assume this is the best for them. They presume that they will be happy in the extent that their lives are the same and placid, and that the minimum the order they are accustomed to changes, the more they will be happy.
However this is not always a demand that would bring advantage to a person. Sometimes the order in a person's life, the stabilities in the life style do not provide the expected gain to that person. On the contrary the real gain for such a person would be the sudden developments, surprise incidents, big ups and downs.
Since man has a limited wisdom, he can't know what exactly the real thing that would benefit him is. But Allah is the Owner of infinite wisdom. And Allah creates the ups and downs in the life of this world, sometimes the shortcomings of this life like difficulties, troubles, poverty and illnesses and sometimes the increases in the blessings, with a great wisdom.
The human soul likes placidness, to live a life as he used to, in line with his expectations, without facing any big surprises. Of course there is a certain amount of comfort, peace and easiness those conditions provide for man. However the placidness, the stagnancy, the monotony and living in a routine life style has its own damages as well.
One of the most important reasons why people like to live without stepping out of their habits is that this life style necessitates using their intelligence, wisdom, conscience and will in the minimum level.
In such a life style a person attains the possibility of living a life without having to use his mind, without taking risks, without trial and error, within the rules he had memorized and approved after numerous tests by making minimum mistakes.
The sudden changes, surprise developments, unexpected ups and downs are situations in which a person would need to use his mind in the maximum level. Under such conditions; having to use his mind in a speedy and serial manner, taking instant and rational decisions, finding out and applying the necessary precautions for the conditions to change, acting courageous and determined, taking risks, making life sustaining attempts become almost indispensible necessities. For a person with normal intelligence it is generally not possible to act indifferent, calm and uninterested in the face of troubles and difficulties. He inevitably starts looking for ways to get out of these materialistic and spiritual difficulties.
In that moment, most people may not be aware of a very important fact. However the tough conditions people are in; the sudden developments that violate their order; that cause them to abandon their routine; that keeps them apart from the placid lives they used to have, are actually great blessings created for them.
This is because the human soul, when left on its own, does not have a structure that could develop on its own. It can only make progress when worked hard with patience and strong will.
And these surprises Allah creates in a man's life, the sudden downs, surprise ups, imperative changes are very important and influential ways for that person to make very fast-track progress. No matter how much a person would want to train and improve himself, he cannot create such unexpected changes in his life on his own. However the natural strain developing under such conditions almost obligates a person to use his power in the highest possible level. Consequently –even if his lower self dislikes that at that moment or even if he faces real difficulties- those incidents he lives through turn out to be great blessings for him.
It is very difficult to make change in personality unless one faces a determined pressure from inside or outside. To make such changes a person should behave seriously strong-willed. He has to use his intelligence and conscience very seriously and be very resolute and patient. Such changes Allah creates as the necessities of the test He puts man through, provide great convenience to him in this respect. They become instrumental in him making fast alterations and improvements in his personality.
For that reason, instead of being in search of things he is used to have in his life and being uncomfortable when something is missing, a person should see the prosperity and wisdom in those changes Allah creates and should try to embrace the beauties in them.
For instance a person might be living in a location very near to his work, his relatives, his friends or his school and might be very happy because of the order he had established in his live and the conveniences and comfort it provides him. When he is obliged to move from that place out of a sudden necessity, he becomes disturbed because he would lose the comfort he is used to have in many matters and face various difficulties. However the place he will move next has been created especially for him. There are special events, new friends, new progresses awaiting for him there. In that location, Allah might "provide him from places he least expects, increase his means, create progress and blessings for him." Or it might be the exact opposite and that person might face difficulties and troubles he had never faced before in his life. But as the result of this strain his personality will develop; he would find the means to outdo himself in many points he was inadequate before and to attain new abilities and specialties.
Or it could be that a person who is not that extravert and talkative, who is not able to communicate easily with others, who cannot act comfortably, had found the solution in living a simple life and in never establishing a dialogue with anyone unless it is absolutely necessary. And within this order he established he might both be comfortable and extricate himself from taking risks. When such a person is given a responsibility at his school or his workplace which requires him to communicate with people one by one, he would think that he is facing a –supposedly- disaster. This is indeed a difficulty and a problem for a person like that. But that person could only be obliged to change his personality under such an imposition. If he is left alone and lead the placid life he is accustomed to, he might not change himself until the end of his life and thus never become a talkative and extravert person.
A person can never know any of these. But Allah knows all of those and everything else beyond. And He creates the best for man. A person should trust Allah very deeply and –no matter what happens- even if it is the biggest shortcoming, the biggest difficulty on earth, he should be aware that there are thousands of goodness and wisdom hidden in all of those. Allah promised man the best of everything both in this world and in the Hereafter when he becomes aware of this truth:
Those who have taqwa of Allah are asked, ‘What has your Lord sent down?’ their reply is, ‘Good!’ There is good in the world for those who do good, and the abode of the Hereafter is even better. How wonderful is the abode of those who have taqwa. (Surat An-Nahl: 30)
... It may be that you hate something when it is good for you and it may be that you love something when it is bad for you. Allah knows and you do not know. (Surat Al-Baqara: 216)
