Relevant Words of God:

People must understand where the pain of birth, old age, illness and death throughout their lives comes from and why man suffers these things. Didn’t these not exist when man was first created? Where did these pains come from? These pains came about after man was tempted and corrupted by Satan and was then degenerated. The pain, troubles, and emptiness of man’s flesh, and all of the wretched things in the world of man—they all appeared after Satan corrupted man. After man was corrupted by Satan, Satan began to torment man, and so man fell ever further, his sickness became ever more profound, his pain ever greater, and he had an increasing sense that the world is empty and miserable, that it is impossible to survive in this world, and that living in this world is increasingly hopeless. So this pain was all brought upon man by Satan, and came after Satan corrupted man and they became degenerated.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. The Significance of God’s Tasting of Worldly Suffering

Since mankind’s contrivance of the social sciences, the mind of man has become occupied by science and knowledge. Science and knowledge then have become tools for the ruling of mankind, and there is no longer sufficient room for man to worship God, and no more favorable conditions for the worship of God. The position of God has sunk ever lower in the heart of man. Without God in his heart, man’s inner world is dark, hopeless and empty. Subsequently many social scientists, historians, and politicians have come to the fore to express theories of social science, the theory of human evolution, and other theories that contradict the truth that God created man, to fill the hearts and minds of mankind. And in this way, those who believe that God created everything have become ever fewer, and those who believe in the theory of evolution have become ever greater in number. More and more people treat the records of the work of God and His words during the age of the Old Testament as myths and legends. In their hearts, people become indifferent to the dignity and greatness of God, to the tenet that God exists and holds dominion over all things. The survival of mankind and the fate of countries and nations are no longer important to them, and man lives in a hollow world concerned only with eating, drinking, and the pursuit of pleasure. … Few people take it upon themselves to seek out where God does His work today, or to look for how He presides over and arranges the destination of man. And in this way, unbeknownst to man, human civilization becomes less and less able to hew to man’s wishes, and there are even many people who feel that, living in such a world, they are less happy than those who have already passed away. Even people of countries that used to be highly civilized air such grievances. For without the guidance of God, no matter how much rulers and sociologists wrack their brains to preserve human civilization, it is to no avail. No one can fill the emptiness in man’s heart, for no one can be the life of man, and no social theory can free man from the emptiness with which he is afflicted. Science, knowledge, freedom, democracy, leisure, comfort: these bring man only a temporary consolation. Even with these things, man still inevitably sins and bemoans the injustices of society. These things cannot restrain man’s craving and desire to explore. This is because man was made by God and the senseless sacrifices and explorations of man can only lead to more distress and can only cause man to exist in a constant state of fear, not knowing how to face the future of mankind or how to face the path that lies ahead. Man even comes to fear science and knowledge, and fear even more the feeling of emptiness. In this world, regardless of whether you live in a free country or one without human rights, you are utterly incapable of escaping the fate of mankind. Whether you are the ruler or the ruled, you are utterly incapable of escaping the desire to explore the fate, mysteries, and destination of mankind, much less are you capable of escaping the bewildering sense of emptiness. Such phenomena, which are common to all of mankind, are called social phenomena by sociologists, yet no great man can come forth to solve such problems. Man, after all, is man, and the position and life of God cannot be replaced by any man. Mankind does not just require a fair society in which everyone is well-fed and is equal and free; what mankind needs is the salvation of God and His provision of life to them. Only when man receives God’s provision of life and His salvation can the needs, the yearning to explore, and the spiritual emptiness of man be resolved. If the people of a country or a nation are unable to receive the salvation and care of God, then such a country or nation will tread the road of decline, toward darkness, and shall be annihilated by God.

—The Word, Vol. 1. The Appearance and Work of God. Appendix 2: God Presides Over the Fate of All Mankind

People go through this life in poverty and wealth and live lives long and short. Some are common folk, while others are high-ranking officials and elites. There are people from every level of society, but they all basically live in the same way: They vie for fame and gain according to their desires, ambitions, and satanic dispositions, and they won’t rest in peace without achieving these goals. Seeing these circumstances, people may consider, “Why do people live like this? Is there no other path to take? Do people really live only to eat and drink well all the way until they die? Where do they go then? Why have so many generations of people all lived in this same way? What’s the root of all this?” Humans don’t know where they come from, what their mission in life is, or who is in charge and who holds sovereignty over all of this. Generations come and go one after the other, and each lives and then dies in the same way. They all come and go in the same way, and no one finds a true means or path for living. No one seeks the truth in this. From ancient times until now, people have all lived in the same way. They are all searching and waiting, wishing to see what humanity will be like without anyone knowing or getting to see it. When all is said and done, people simply don’t know who is the One that governs and holds sovereignty over all of this or whether He even exists. They don’t know the answer to this, and all they can do is to live on helplessly, yearning year after year, and enduring day by day until now. If people knew why all of this was, would this give them a path to follow for how they should live? Would they then be able to escape from this suffering and no longer have to live according to human wishes and hopes? When people understand why they live, why they die, and who is in charge of this world; when they come to understand the answer that the One who holds sovereignty over everything is the Creator, then they’ll have a path to follow. They’ll know that they should seek the truth in God’s words to find a way forward and they don’t need to live in such misery relying on wishes and hopes. If people discover the answer to why they live and die, won’t there be a resolution to all human misery and difficulties? Won’t this offer people deliverance? People will have truly found deliverance, and they will be completely set free.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

What should you ponder in your heart after hearing the song, “The One Who Holds Sovereignty Over Everything”? If mankind were to know why they live and why they die, and who, in fact, is the Sovereign of this world and all things and the One who rules over everything, and where He is, exactly, and what He requires of man—if mankind could understand these things, they would know how to treat the Creator, and how to worship and submit to Him, they would gain support in their heart, they would be at peace and happy, and they would no longer live in such torment and pain. In the final analysis, people must understand the truth. The path they choose for their lives is crucial, and how they live is also important. How one lives and the path one walks decide whether one’s life is joyful or sorrowful. This is something people should understand. When people hear this hymn, they may have such a deep feeling in their hearts: “The lives of all mankind follow this sort of pattern; ancient people were no exception, and modern people are the same as they were of old. Modern people haven’t changed these ways. So, is there a Sovereign among mankind, a legendary God who is in charge of everything? If mankind can find God, the One who is in charge of everything, won’t mankind be capable of feeling happiness? The key now is to find the root of mankind. Where is this root? Upon finding this root, mankind can live in another sort of realm. If mankind is unable to find it, and continues living the same sort of lives as ever, will they be capable of achieving happiness?” If people do not believe in God, even if they know that mankind is deeply corrupt, what are they to do then? Can they resolve the actual problem of corruption? Do they have a path to salvation? Though you may wish to change for the better and live out a human likeness, can you? You have no path by which to go about doing so! Some people, for example, live for their children; you may say you do not wish to do so, but can you achieve this? Some people rush around and busy themselves for wealth, and for fame and gain. You may say that you don’t wish to rush around for these things, but can you actually achieve this? Unknowingly, you have already embarked on this path, and though you wish to change to a different way of living, you cannot. How you live in this world is out of your hands! What is the root of this? It is that people do not believe in the true God and have not gained the truth. What sustains man’s spirit? Where do they look for spiritual support? For spiritual support, people look to the reunion of family; to the bliss of marriage; to the enjoyment of material things; to wealth, fame, and gain; to their status, their feelings, and their careers; and to the next generation’s happiness. Does anyone not look to these things for spiritual support? Those with children find it in their children; those without children find it in their careers, in marriage, in status in society, and in fame and gain. The ways of life thus produced are therefore all the same; subject to Satan’s mastery and power, and in spite of themselves, all people rush about and busy themselves for the sake of fame, gain, their prospects, their careers, their marriages, their families, or for the sake of the next generation, or for physical pleasures. Is this the right path? However busily people bustle about in this world, however professionally accomplished they are, however happy their families are, however big their family is, however prestigious their status is—are they capable of embarking on the right path of human life? By chasing after fame and gain, the world, or by pursuing their careers, are they capable of seeing the fact that God created all things and holds sovereignty over the destiny of mankind? It is not possible. If people do not acknowledge the fact that God holds sovereignty over the destiny of mankind, then, regardless of their particular pursuit or path, the path they walk is wrong. It is not the right path, but the crooked path, the path of evil. It does not matter if you have derived satisfaction from your spiritual support, or if you have not, and it does not matter where you find that support: It is not genuine faith, and it is not the right path for human life. What is it to have genuine faith? It’s accepting God’s appearance and work and accepting all of the truth that God has expressed. This truth is the right path for human life and the truth and the life that people should pursue. Walking the right path in life is following God and being able, under the leadership of His words, to understand the truth, tell good from evil, know what is positive and what is negative, and understand His sovereignty and almightiness. When people truly understand in their hearts that God did not only create the heavens and earth and all things but is also the Sovereign over the universe and everything, they can obey all of His orchestrations and arrangements, live according to His words, and fear God and shun evil. This is walking the right path for human life. When people take the right path in life, they can understand why people live and how they should live in order to live in the light and receive God’s blessing and approval.

—The Word, Vol. 3. The Discourses of Christ of the Last Days. Part Three

Some people have a profound, deeply felt understanding of the phrase “that’s fate,” yet they do not believe in God’s sovereignty in the least; they do not believe that human fate is arranged and orchestrated by God, and are unwilling to submit to the sovereignty of God. Such people are as if adrift on the ocean, tossed by the waves, drifting with the current, with no choice but to wait passively and resign themselves to fate. Yet they do not recognize that human fate is subject to God’s sovereignty; they cannot on their own initiative come to know God’s sovereignty and thereby achieve knowledge of God’s authority, submit to God’s orchestrations and arrangements, stop resisting fate, and live under God’s care, protection, and guidance. In other words, accepting fate is not the same thing as submitting to the Creator’s sovereignty; belief in fate does not mean that one accepts, recognizes, and knows the Creator’s sovereignty; belief in fate is mere recognition of its truth and its superficial manifestations. This is different from knowing how the Creator rules humanity’s fate, from recognizing the Creator is the source of dominion over the fates of all things, and certainly a far cry from submitting to the Creator’s orchestrations and arrangements for humanity’s fate. If a person only believes in fate—even if they feel deeply about it—but is not thereby able to know and recognize the Creator’s sovereignty over the fate of humanity, to submit to it and accept it, then their life will nonetheless be a tragedy, a life lived in vain, a void; they will still be unable to surrender under the Creator’s dominion, to become a created human being in the truest sense of the term, and to enjoy the Creator’s approval. A person who truly knows and experiences the Creator’s sovereignty should be in an active state, not a state that is negative or helpless. While such a person would accept that all things are fated, they should possess an accurate definition of life and fate: Every life is subject to the Creator’s sovereignty. When one looks back on the road one has walked, when one recollects every phase of one’s journey, one sees that at every step, whether one’s journey was arduous or smooth, God was guiding one’s path, planning it out. It was God’s meticulous arrangements, His careful planning, that led one, unknowingly, to today. To be able to accept the Creator’s sovereignty, to receive His salvation—what great fortune that is! If a person has a negative attitude toward fate, it proves that they are resisting everything that God has arranged for them, that they do not have a submissive attitude. If one has a positive attitude toward God’s sovereignty over human fate, then when one looks back upon one’s journey, when one truly experiences God’s sovereignty, one will more earnestly desire to submit to everything that God has arranged, will have more determination and confidence to let God orchestrate one’s fate and to stop rebelling against God. For one sees that when one does not comprehend fate, when one does not understand God’s sovereignty, when one gropes their way forward willfully, staggering and tottering through the fog, the journey is too difficult, too heartbreaking. So when people recognize God’s sovereignty over human fate, the clever ones choose to know it and accept it, to bid farewell to the painful days when they tried to build a good life with their own two hands, and to stop struggling against fate and pursuing their so-called “life goals” in their own way. When one does not have God, when one cannot see Him, when one cannot clearly recognize God’s sovereignty, every day is meaningless, worthless, miserable. Wherever one is, whatever one’s job is, one’s means of living and the pursuit of one’s goals bring one nothing but endless heartbreak and suffering without relief, such that one cannot bear to look back on one’s past. Only when one accepts the Creator’s sovereignty, submits to His orchestrations and arrangements, and seeks true human life will one gradually begin to break free from all heartbreak and suffering, and to be rid of all the emptiness of life.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III

Because people do not recognize God’s orchestrations and God’s sovereignty, they always face fate defiantly and with a rebellious attitude, and they always want to cast off God’s authority and sovereignty and the things fate has in store, hoping in vain to change their current circumstances and alter their fate. But they can never succeed and are thwarted at every turn. This struggle, which takes place deep in one’s soul, brings profound pain of the sort that carves itself into one’s bones, as one fritters away their life all the while. What is the cause of this pain? Is it because of God’s sovereignty, or because a person was born unlucky? Obviously, neither is true. At bottom, it is caused by the paths people take, the ways they choose to live their lives. Some people may not have realized these things. But when you truly know, when you truly come to recognize that God has sovereignty over human fate, when you truly understand that everything God has planned for you and decided for you is a great benefit and protection, then you feel your pain begin to lighten, and your whole being becomes relaxed, free, liberated. Judging from the states of the majority of people, they objectively cannot truly come to terms with the practical value and meaning of the Creator’s sovereignty over human fate, even though on a subjective level, they do not want to keep on living as they did before and want relief from their pain; objectively, they cannot truly recognize and submit to the Creator’s sovereignty, and still less do they know how to seek out and accept the Creator’s orchestrations and arrangements. So, if people cannot truly recognize the fact that the Creator has sovereignty over human fate and over all human matters, if they cannot truly submit to the Creator’s dominion, then it will be difficult for them not to be driven and fettered by the idea that “one’s fate is in one’s own hands.” It will be difficult for them to shake off the pain of their intense struggle against fate and the Creator’s authority, and, needless to say, it will also be hard for them to become truly liberated and free, to become people who worship God. But there is an exceedingly simple way to free oneself from this state, which is to bid farewell to one’s former way of living; to say goodbye to one’s previous goals in life; to summarize and dissect one’s previous lifestyle, view of life, pursuits, desires, and ideals; and then to compare them with God’s intentions and demands for man, and see whether any of them is consistent with God’s intentions and demands, whether any of them delivers the right values of life, leads one to a greater understanding of the truth, and allows one to live with humanity and the likeness of a human being. When you repeatedly investigate and carefully dissect the various goals that people pursue in life and their myriad ways of living, you will find not one of them conforms to the Creator’s original intention with which He created humanity. All of them draw people away from the Creator’s sovereignty and care; they are all traps which cause people to become depraved, and which lead them to hell. After you recognize this, your task is to lay aside your old view of life, stay far from various traps, let God take charge of your life and make arrangements for you; it is to try only to submit to God’s orchestrations and guidance, to live without individual choice, and to become a person who worships God. This sounds easy, but is a hard thing to do. Some people can bear the pain of it, others cannot. Some are willing to comply, others are unwilling. Those who are unwilling lack the desire and the resolution to do so; they are clearly aware of God’s sovereignty, know perfectly well that it is God who plans out and arranges human fate, and yet they still kick and struggle and remain unreconciled to laying their fates in God’s palm and submitting to God’s sovereignty; moreover, they resent God’s orchestrations and arrangements. So there will always be some people who want to see for themselves what they are capable of; they want to change their fates with their own two hands, or to achieve happiness by their own power, to see whether they can overstep the bounds of God’s authority and rise above God’s sovereignty. The tragedy of man is not that he seeks a happy life, not that he pursues fame and fortune or struggles against his own fate through the fog, but that after he has seen the Creator’s existence, after he has learned the fact that the Creator has sovereignty over human fate, he still cannot mend his ways, cannot pull his feet out of the mire, but hardens his heart and persists in his errors. He would rather keep thrashing in the mud, vying obstinately against the Creator’s sovereignty, resisting it until the bitter end, all without the slightest shred of contrition. It is only when he lies broken and bleeding that he at last decides to give up and turn back. This is true human sorrow. So I say, those who choose to submit are wise, and those who choose to struggle and flee are foolish indeed.

—The Word, Vol. 2. On Knowing God. God Himself, the Unique III