Consequently, the all-knowing God had to take responsibility for this. Who initiated the providence for salvation? God did. God initiated the providence for restoration and He also had to initiate the providence for re-creation. (228-268, 1992.7.5)
Through this ceremony, the environmental conditions necessary for all humankind to be able to participate in the Blessing have been created, and all people connected to the mainstream ideal can now belong to You through attending it. This amazing and incredible miracle has been wrought, not just by the work of the Unification Church but also by the joint efforts of Yourself and the spirit world. Therefore, I hope and pray that You can forever hold the victorious dominion and sovereignty of eternal love and glory gained from this ceremony, and establish the Kingdom of Heaven on earth and in the spirit world through the liberation achieved by this Blessing. All humankind connected to the 360 Million Couples can now unite in heart and strive to achieve the unity of mind and body, husband and wife, and within the tribe, race, nation, world, and cosmos. These couples have been established as the nucleus representing the True Parents on earth and the family in the garden of Your love. They have been blessed in order to complete the Kingdom of Heaven on earth with the sovereignty of the love central to the ideal of creation, which has been Your eternal dream.
How can you receive God’s protection? God does not protect a person unless he has something that endears him to God. What do you have that would draw God to relate to you? Does God need your money? Does He need your power? Knowledge? God desires but one thing: love. Therefore, love gives us the privilege to move God. When He relates to us out of love, He can alter our destiny. Love can move God.
Do you think that God will forsake people who are truly striving to love Him? What if, out of love for Him, they place themselves in miserable circumstances? Will their lives end in misfortune? On the contrary, their troubles will become a condition to turn their miserable situation into a fortunate outcome. Therefore, those who endure misfortune on the path of loving God are fortunate people. It is even more fortunate for them if they are happy to follow this path. When God sees them braving waves of misfortune throughout the world as they search for God’s love, He thinks it most wonderful.
When I was in prison in North Korea, I endured severe torture. Yet the more severe the torture was, the stronger I became. I thought, “Go ahead, you… The more you torture me, the more God will love me.” With that attitude, although I was destined to die, I lived. Have this attitude, and, you can make your crooked way straight.
To overcome, we need but one thing. Our path of life may be troubled, insecure, full of the misery and with only fleeting pleasures, yet on this path we can bind the power of death and go beyond death’s misery. What is the path to overcome all these trials and go safely straight to the goal? It is the path of loving God. Is there any other way? When we are ready to live and die for the love of God, God will be with us and protect us. (67:175-76, June 3, 1973)
Our mind seeks the world of the heart. Even radio waves do not operate just anywhere; they require a receiver that is tuned to resonate with the signal. It is the same with people. As long as a person has a true conscience, a true loving standard, and a foundation of Heaven’s heart, then wherever or whenever he goes, even in conditions of oppression and misery, he will unexpectedly find a way to survive and even prosper. Even when misunderstood and mistreated, he will find a way.
The path to life cannot be found in comfortable circumstances. No one ever achieved an historical revolution, an historical discovery, or an historical success in a comfortable place. They began in circumstances where they stood face to face with death. In such situations, God reached out to them.
Therefore, when someone is about to encounter God, he will meet with a crisis. It may be material—an accident or a financial disaster. It may be a problem with other people, or it may be a problem of the heart. At that time, if he shouts out, “I will go this path no matter what,” and goes forward resolutely, he will be able to lead others who struggle with similar kinds of problems. (7:333-34, October 18, 1959)
When we cannot go one step further, yet are willing to endure still more, God appears and blesses us, saying, “My son, my daughter, you don’t have to endure any longer. You can rest now.” This is the path of our restoration course. As we endure on our journey with hymns of thanksgiving, God comes to us and tearfully says, “Where else can I find a son or daughter like you? I will now appoint someone else to carry on for you.” Then He gives us a place of rest and heavenly rewards from His fatherly heart. (44:29, May 4, 1971)
We should know at what point God works with us and at what point Satan is likely to attack us. There are always these two kinds of works. In fulfilling the will of God, people should climb up by their own efforts to the point where God can help them. That is the human portion responsibility. God gets directly involved only after human beings have reached a certain level; he does not help them below that level. As we approach that level we may receive a little help, but only when we reach it does God provide us with maximum support.
When you spin a hoop vertically on a stick, the hardest thing is to get the hoop to go over the top. As it spins upward, it almost comes to rest on top before it accelerates on the way back down. Likewise, you assemble your efforts on the way up and strain to go over the top… Yet you could not have made it to the top based on your own efforts alone. You could succeed because God added His power to yours.
However, at the top, Satan waits in ambush. At the moment you reach the goal, God no longer supports you. If He did, it would be in violation of heavenly law. At that moment, when God lets you alone, you are liable to face Satan’s attack. God and Satan each keep to their own territory and do not interfere with each other.
In other words, when you are making effort to fulfill your mission, you can gain God’s help. But at the moment of success, you will face Satan. But because God and Satan do not appear at the same time, when it is time to face Satan, God withdraws. This is unavoidable. In order to give you the opportunity to fulfill your portion of responsibility, you must go over this test because of the law of human responsibility and because human beings are responsible to subjugate Satan. Knowing this, you should be alert at this critical point. It is when problems most commonly arise.
Then, you will meet another problem when you are coasting downhill. Having reached the summit, it is easy to relax and descend without making effort. If so, you will just continue to descend. But like spinning a hoop, to reach the next top you have to add more force on the downward cycle. The more force you exert as the hoop goes down, the faster it rises as it loops back up. From this perspective, know that you need God’s support while you are descending just as much as you need His help when you were climbing. Yet since you are still in that dark area where Satan holds sway, you have to make a special prayer condition for a certain period of time; otherwise God’s help will not be forthcoming. By this method, you can gain an added spurt of Heaven’s power to rise up even faster towards the next goal.
Such is a formula. For instance, after the Israelites enjoyed a time of blessing, it was followed by a time of oppression. Without fail, after each blessing they faced attacks from Satan. (73:268-70, September 29, 1974)
People ridiculed us, but Thou didst encourage us.
Many people opposed us, but Thou didst comfort us.
So many times Thou didst counsel us, saying, “I am with you,
and the billions of saints in the spirit world are protecting your way.”
(16:50, December 26, 1965)
