Have you ever seen a mother monkey jumping around with a baby monkey? The baby monkey holds on to the body of the mother. It holds on tightly with its fore paws and the legs. It hangs underneath her, literally clinging on to her. The mother monkey doesn’t even worry about the baby. She jumps from branch to branch merrily without seeming concerned. She knows her baby will cling on to her. The baby depends upon it’s mother, no doubt, but it also depends on its own strength. It’s like saying, “God, I won’t leave You. I’m holding on tight.”
There is another animal who also depends on its mother for its movement—the kitten. Whenever the kitten wants to move, all it has to do is meow. The mother comes, picks it up by the scruff of its neck, and jumps about here and there.
Both the baby monkey and the kitten depend upon their mothers to transport them from place to place. But in the case of the monkey, it is the baby monkey who is anxious, whereas in the case of the cat, it is the mother who is responsible. The kitten is totally free. She thoughts probably are, “It’s none of my business. You take me wherever you want to. I don’t know anything. All I know is to meow.”
If you totally surrender yourself into the hands of God, your thoughts will be, “God, I didn’t plan to come here. You sent me here. You have a purpose. I don’t know what that purpose is. If I could ask You for anything, it would be this, ‘Let me always remember that You are working through me. I am not responsible for any of these things. Please let me not forget this’.’”
You might ask, “Then what is free will?” Free will means you are free to take responsibility in your own hands or to give it into the hands of God. If you take the responsibility yourself, after going through all the problems, difficulties, and turmoil, you will finally say, “I am tired, God. I’m not going to try to handle this anymore. I know I cannot. So the best thing is for me to put the reins in Your hands. Let me take the back seat. You drive.”
Then your life will be super, super peaceful.
