Monday, May 5, 2008

Alma 38:5-6 -- On Trust, Deliverance, and Growth

"And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.
Now, my son, I would not that ye should think that I know these things of myself, but it is the Spirit of God which is in me which maketh these things known unto me; for if I had not been born of God I should not have known these things."
Alma 38:5-6


I love how God helps us so much... telling us here, if you trust me, I'll deliver you.  And it doesn't seem like an all-or-nothing thing either.  "As much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much" seems like it is as much as we trust, that is how much we'll be delivered.  So, even if we can only trust a little bit at first, we'll *still* be delivered a little bit... and when we learn and grow and trust more, then we will be delivered more.  And, eventually, when we trust completely... we'll be delivered completely. 

It seems incredible to me that God would give us such a deal, but that is where the second verse comes in... the spirit whispers of the truth of all of it.  As we learn and grow in the gospel, God responds, and helps us as much as we're able to handle. :) ... And even that is pretty cool.  I usually think of greater and greater *tests* coming along, so much so that I sometimes think... yikes.  Maybe I don't want to grow any more.  But the truth is that God is there, right along with us.  As we grow stronger, and trust him more, he helps us more, and gives us more room to grow... kind of like that parable of the gardener.  He digs about our roots and prunes away the bad branches as we become strong enough.

And, seriously... doesn't that make it all worth it? Every minute of "testing" and "enduring" seems completely swallowed up in the opportunities and help that our Father grants us, as we learn and grow. It is utterly amazing. ... I'm definitely not up to the trust completely level, but as I trust God to help me, he comes through every time.  Today, let's work on that trust, and allow God to help us more and more to become better than we could ever imagine.

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