Magical momentum
INsights 071, Friday 4th April 2025
Magical momentum
INsights 071, Friday 4th April 2025
Just after 'Eid, I gave some thought to resuming the INsights newsletter this week. I wasn't really feeling it.
But this morning, my mind was running with some thoughts to the point of bursting... so I knew it was time to write about them.
Carpe diem!
An incredible sensation
I love momentum.
For a start, I just like the way the word sounds: mo-men-tum!
More importantly, I love the way it feels.
I'm sure you know what I'm talking about.
Things actually start to happen and line up with each other in wonderful ways.
Problems are getting solved. Creases are being ironed out.
All the time, the rate of progress is increasing. Doors of opportunity open faster than you expect.
It feels especially rewarding after a long period of putting off priorities. Or after much planning and consultation.
Because the period of uncertainty, dread and overthinking is finally over.
Now you're in the mode of decisions and action.
It's clarity after confusion, release after tension, freedom after constraint.
Before you could barely stand on the surfboard.
Now you're riding waves... and it's just beautiful.
I'm pleased to say that I'm experiencing a lot of the above nowadays.
I won't go into the particular details here as I hope they will become evident soon, God willing.
But I celebrate and am thankful for the fact that the familiar feeling of momentum is back... and long may it stay.
But where did it ever go?
The question arises... if I've felt this kind of momentum before and I'm feeling it again now, what happened in between?
What did I do for it to dissipate? Why did I ever let it escape me?
The answers are actually simple.
Momentum left me because I left the arena.
Theoretically I knew where my attention should be, but I wasn't as practically focused on my highest goal as I should have been.
Failing to prioritise my life's mission was me failing to make God my only and ultimate concern.
The incredibly powerful prophetic saying comes to mind:
"Whoever has this world as their primary concern, God will make desperation their constant companion, bring about disorder in their affairs, and they will get nothing of the world expect what was already decreed for them.”
I put myself over others.
I put others over God.
I forgot Him, so He made me forget myself.
I did this despite knowing His words: "Do not be like those who forget God such that He makes them forget themselves..." (59:19)
Us forgetting Him doesn't have to mean a total abandonment.
It can be a momentary but inexcusable mindlessness.
It can be to acknowledge Him but not take Him seriously enough.
It can be to know what He wants from us but to act half-heartedly or not at all.
I understand the idea of Him making us forget ourselves as a kind of temporary punishment whereby we end up losing perspective, prioritising this world over the next, and getting embroiled in lower level objectives and considerations.
At the extreme end, it is to follow the devil blindly and succumb to our base instincts completely.
At this point, not only is there is no progress on the path, but you start to veer away from it completely. Soon you're unable to see where the path is at all.
Momentum is totally lost.
Stagnation reigns supreme.
But within this punishment there is a hidden blessing: Him making us forget ourselves is a mechanism to show us the consequences of heedlessness right here in this life.
This can help us get back on track if only we would pay attention and realise once again what we already know deep down: forgetting, ignoring or deprioritising God to any extent whatsoever is now and forever a bad idea.
The momentum that matters
Momentum in relation to worldly pursuit that is neither for God's sake nor for His cause is the dangerous kind.
Because it feels like everything is going wonderfully, when in fact disaster lurks.
This happens when one's concerns and efforts are not for God and in anticipation of meeting Him, but despite God and in denial about the final encounter.
It reminds me of the goosebump-inducing verses that refer to the delusion of "...those who have most to lose by their actions, whose efforts in this world are misguided even when they think they are doing good work. It is those who deny their Lord's messages and their meeting with Him, so their deeds will come to nothing and We shall give them no weight on the Day of Resurrection." (18:103-105)
The momentum that matters is the kind that propels us towards our Lord.
For the believer, this experience is where you feel like you are journeying towards Him at all times.
You can see the gates of the eternal abode of peace in your mind's eye, and you are running towards them.
That means your thoughts, your concerns, your words and your efforts consist only of what you believe He wants from you.
Then all the effects of godly momentum as described earlier start materialising... you feel that He Himself is drawing you closer and showing you the way.
In peak states, it's as though you've stopped acting altogether and that He alone is acting through you.
A perfect synchronicity emerges.
For some precious moments, I've known what it's like to have this indescribable feeling.
I also know what it's like to be down in the dumps. Trust me.
But if the waves of opportunity are endless, how can we keep ourselves surfing blissfully without falling in future?
The way back
Well, the formula is what it's always been.
After a period of heedlessness, we just need to remember Him again, to reenter and recommit to the relationship with sincerity.
No matter how far we've strayed or how badly we've fallen short of fulfilling our potential, He can guide us back to Him: "Whoever clings to God, they will be guided to a straight path." (3:101)
God can revive our hearts just as quickly as we allowed them to become lifeless.
The one who can make us forget ourselves completely can help us remember ourselves entirely once again.
Practically, this means really internalising and acting upon your specific answers to life's big questions of where you've come from, where you're going and what the point of your existence is all about.
It means that you take with absolute seriousness the task of figuring out the most valuable contribution you can make in this short life for the sake and cause of God... and that you use every opportunity to do what needs to be done to fulfil the task that you've identified.
Whatever gets in the way that is disconnected from your ultimate purpose must be sacrificed.
Then, and only then, can you be confident of Him being on your side and you experiencing the magical feeling of meaningful momentum.
Because, "If you assist God, He will assist you..." (47:7) and, "If God comes to your assistance, nothing can overcome you..." (3:160)
That prophetic saying I quoted earlier has another part to it: "Whoever has the next life as their primary concern, God will place contentment deep in their heart, settle their affairs, and the world will inevitably come to them."
So get going or keep going on your momentous journey my friend.
And know this:
Whatever your sin, His mercy is greater.
Whatever your frustration, His wisdom is greater.
Whatever your obstacle, His power is greater.
Whatever it is, God is greater.
Until next time.
Peace.
Iqbal
~~~
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