“Why is God punishing me?” That is the question you always ask yourself when things go wrong and you don’t know why it keeps happening. This is what many people would say is the scariest secret of the whole universe, so I'm going to break that down, but here's the thing: once you know what many people would feel like is the scariest secret of the universe, once you figure it out, it actually becomes just the secret to the universe. Quite helpful. If you haven't yet, make sure you get my free success hypnosis at jakeshypnosis.com to reprogram your subconscious mind, and let's dive right into this.
So, have you ever had something happen to you that seemed so bad that you thought God was punishing you, that the universe was punishing you, that the universe even hated you for a moment; You were sentenced to karmic hell for something you did 18 lives ago, and it makes you wonder if life is out to get you? So if you find this interesting, you might want to read more on my previous blog, "Send A Prayer To The Universe & Receive Miracles.”
Albert Einstein once said, "One of the most important decisions you'll ever make in your life is whether you live in a friendly or hostile universe," and when we don't understand this scary secret by default, the majority of us start to believe that we live in a hostile universe, but that's not the case at all; in fact, sometimes the universe has to punch you in the face many times and kind of shake you up quite a bit because it's trying to help you, not because it’s trying to hurt you, he’s trying to help. I finally realized this when I was about 21 years old. So if you ask yourself, “why is God punishing me?”, have faith and think that everything happens for a reason.
It's Up To You To Decide Whether It's Happening To You Or For You
I dropped out of college, backpacked around the world, and wrote my first book, which no one would publish, so I self-published it and sold it out of the trunk of my car. I thought I was on my way. My next step was to become a college speaker, and I hired this guy who was so successful at college speaking to be my mentor. "Do you know if I have bad karma?" I wondered, and after much trial and error, I realized that life is either happening to you or for you, and it's up to you to decide whether it's happening to you or for you. If you see the world as happening to you, you're a victim to everything; there is no such thing as a friendly universe; you actually live in a hostile universe, and you can't quite make sense of everything.
But if you see the world as happening to you, that's when everything starts to change. So I'm all pissed off. I'm lying in bed one night with Ashley, my wife; she was just my girlfriend then, and we're lying in bed, and I'm so angry at this guy, and I'm so angry at life. I finally took a deep breath and said, "This is so dumb, I don't even want to be a college speaker." I mean, why would I want to be a college speaker? So if you ask yourself, “Why is God punishing me?”, have faith and think that everything happens for a reason. I dropped out of college, and you know all of them were trying to tell me I couldn't talk about my story when they'd hire me.
Why is God Punishing Me? - Do You Live In A Friendly Or Hostile Universe?
It was dumb, it was stupid, I didn't like it, but I thought I had to do it, and I thought that was the only way I'd be able to support myself long-term financially, which, in hindsight, is the best thing that ever happened to me because, if you look forward right now to the lockdowns and everything like that, I would have lost my entire business and career if I had been a college speaker. So if you ask yourself, “Why is God punishing me?”, have faith and think that everything happens for a reason.
You see the ways the universe works on your behalf, so I want you to think about this. How is life treating you right now? How is it treating you? How is it treating you? Do you live in a friendly or hostile universe? What if the universe is so friendly that it's like that one friend everyone wishes they had but doesn't—the one who tells you everything you don't want to hear because they're actually trying to help you, whereas everyone else sugarcoats it and tells you what you want to hear?
That's what the universe is, so I'm lying in bed thinking, "Oh my God, I don't even want to be a college speaker." That's so stupid, and I was like, "Well, what would I want to do?" I want to build everything I do through YouTube, online courses, and online seminars, and I want to say exactly what I want, not what they tell me I can say. Shortly after, I launched my YouTube channel, which has since grown to over 600,000 subscribers and 60–70 million views, transforming it into a multi-million dollar business. People visited my website from almost every single country in the world, far beyond anything I ever would have imagined, and I probably make more money than that guy now too, if you know what I'm saying.
Why is God Punishing Me? - The Best Thing That Ever Happened To Me
But that's not the point. The point is, when I thought life was punishing me, it turned out to be the best thing that ever happened to me. So if you ask yourself, “Why is God punishing me?”, have faith and think that everything happens for a reason. I didn't realize it at the time, and you may not realize it yet. You might still be sulking in your own misery. You may still feel as if someone punched you in the mouth—that the universe is out to get you; that you have bad karma; that it is the result of something you did earlier in your life. No, that's not how it works; it's happening for you, and sometimes you have to lose everything, or at least perceive that you've lost everything, in order to get to where you're really supposed to be.
God loves you so much that sometimes it has to be that one friend who trips you and is like, "Hey, you forgot to tie your shoes." My life was forever altered as a result of this. I thought I was living my purpose, but what I was really doing was following the rules of what all the other authors were doing to be successful, which was trying to get college speaking gigs. So, on top of that, I fell into a deeper level of purpose, so consider this: Do you live in a friendly or hostile universe? Is life happening to you or for you? What is the universe trying to teach you?
Why is God Punishing Me? - Life Becomes Scary
So if you ask yourself, “Why is God punishing me?”, have faith and think that everything happens for a reason. I think you know the answer, so if you enjoyed this, make sure you check out my free success hypnosis at jakeshypnosis.com. My success hypnosis is currently rewiring your subconscious mind. There's a lot of fear, anxiety, and worry in the world, so make sure you're surrounding yourself with positive energy. Find things that have that positive energy, that positive vibe, and then ask yourself, "Do I live in a friendly or a hostile universe?"
What is the universe trying to show you? What direction is God trying to move you in right now because everything's happening for a reason, even the littlest things? That thing you found out about your boyfriend, girlfriend, husband, or wife; that thing you learned about your boss; that thing happening at work; that thing that happened with a customer or client; that thing with your health; it's not to punish you; it's to help you. We're so stuck in our egos that we can't just get a friendly tap; we have to get smacked up upside the head, and our reason for titling this the scariest secret in the universe is because if you don't know this, then you perceive everything as a threat.
Life becomes scary. God himself becomes this vengeful creature in the sky, trying to kill you. Everything becomes hostile. You're all alone in this dog-eat-dog world; everything's out to get you, and you don't know how bad your karma is from things you did earlier. Is life happening to you or for you? Do you live in a friendly or hostile universe? If you can dig a little deeper, I believe you'll find some of the most important, powerful, and impactful things coming your way right now. So if you ask yourself, “Why is God punishing me?”, have faith and think that everything happens for a reason. All you've got to do is take a deep breath and ask yourself this question again: Is life happening to me, or do I live in a friendly or hostile universe?
Why is God Punishing Me? - Life Is On Your Side
So this is Jake Ducey with JakeDucey.com. And I'm just reminding you that the universe literally is "love." God is synonymous with love. Life is on your side in every way, shape, and form imaginable. But sometimes you're with the wrong person. Sometimes you're doing the wrong thing. Sometimes you're at the wrong place at the wrong time. You're doing the wrong thing over and over, and you're still with the wrong person.
You're still doing the wrong thing. So it just smacks you once lightly, but you still don't get it, so then it's like, and you still don't get it, and you're still with that person that's treating you like crap, and you're still at that crappy job, and you're still settling financially, and you're still not taking care of your health, and you're still making the same mistakes in your household, your family, and your relationships over and over.
Surrounding Yourself With Positive Energy

So then it goes boom, and then you just fall flat on your back, and you go, "Does God not like me?" No, no, no. Remember, is life happening to you or for you? How is this trying to serve my highest and best interest? How is this trying to serve my highest and best good? What is the universe trying to do for me? What is the universe trying to show me? In what direction is the universe trying to move me?