"And the Lord said unto them also: Go forth among the Lamanites, thy brethren, and establish my word; yet ye shall be patient in long-suffering and afflictions, that ye may show forth good examples unto them in me, and I will make an instrument of thee in my hands unto the salvation of many souls.
And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God.
And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, that they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken."
Alma 17:11-13
These verses are describing the beginning of the mission of the sons of Mosiah. Earlier in the chapter, Alma (the younger) meets them and rejoices that they are still strong in the gospel, so this part is the beginning of an extended flashback of their mission. It is kind of cool because we already saw how it turned out... that they made it through and found success in this great work that they had undertaken, and then we get to go in and read the details, knowing ahead of time there will be a happy ending.
And you know, if we think about it, this is the same kind of cool that our whole lives are, if we can just have a tiny touch of faith. God has promised us a happy ending. We know that things work out in the end. Resurrection, perfect bodies, no pain, no sickness... eternal happiness... all of it. And even in this life we know that sadness can be swallowed up in the joy of the Lord. Doesn't mean we get everything we want right now... I think that is one reason that God counseled the sons of Mosiah to be patient in long-suffering and afflictions. Those things happen. But if we hang in there, and stick close to God, the happy ending is still always there waiting for us. I think that is a lot of what 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 is saying. That trouble and confusion and persecution can come, but it doesn't have to defeat or destroy us. We can be okay in the midst of it, if we trust in God's promise of a happy ending. Today, let's try to stop worrying and freaking out so much about things, and let's trust God. Let's live our lives, knowing that we are getting closer and closer to the happy ending. Maybe it will be a little easier to get through this chapter that way. :)
And it came to pass that the hearts of the sons of Mosiah, and also those who were with them, took courage to go forth unto the Lamanites to declare unto them the word of God.
And it came to pass when they had arrived in the borders of the land of the Lamanites, that they separated themselves and departed one from another, trusting in the Lord that they should meet again at the close of their harvest; for they supposed that great was the work which they had undertaken."
Alma 17:11-13
These verses are describing the beginning of the mission of the sons of Mosiah. Earlier in the chapter, Alma (the younger) meets them and rejoices that they are still strong in the gospel, so this part is the beginning of an extended flashback of their mission. It is kind of cool because we already saw how it turned out... that they made it through and found success in this great work that they had undertaken, and then we get to go in and read the details, knowing ahead of time there will be a happy ending.
And you know, if we think about it, this is the same kind of cool that our whole lives are, if we can just have a tiny touch of faith. God has promised us a happy ending. We know that things work out in the end. Resurrection, perfect bodies, no pain, no sickness... eternal happiness... all of it. And even in this life we know that sadness can be swallowed up in the joy of the Lord. Doesn't mean we get everything we want right now... I think that is one reason that God counseled the sons of Mosiah to be patient in long-suffering and afflictions. Those things happen. But if we hang in there, and stick close to God, the happy ending is still always there waiting for us. I think that is a lot of what 2 Corinthians 4:8-9 is saying. That trouble and confusion and persecution can come, but it doesn't have to defeat or destroy us. We can be okay in the midst of it, if we trust in God's promise of a happy ending. Today, let's try to stop worrying and freaking out so much about things, and let's trust God. Let's live our lives, knowing that we are getting closer and closer to the happy ending. Maybe it will be a little easier to get through this chapter that way. :)
No comments:
Post a Comment