“And it came to pass that I spake unto my brethren, saying: Let us go up again unto Jerusalem, and let us be faithful in keeping the commandments of the Lord; for behold he is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty, yea, or even than his tens of thousands?
Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea.
Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.”
1 Nephi 4:1-3
The thing that strikes me today about these verses is the idea that it is God that makes us capable. He provides a way (see 1 Nephi 3:7). The brothers had tried to do things the right way in the beginning and talk to Laban about it, and Nephi had already tried everything he could think of when they went back to gather up all their wealth and offer it to Laban in return for the plates. As humans they came up short.
They were understandably scared to try again after Laban tried to have them killed, and stole all of their stuff. The thing is, they (and we) aren’t dependent only on their own capabilities. In actual fact, God will provide. Beyond our understanding and beyond our capability, God will make the impossible happen so that his will can be accomplished.
We always put disclaimers in when we speak of answers to prayer, and we should… sometimes our wills and God’s will don’t mesh completely, or we want God to violate another person's agency, or our timing and God's timing are different. But no disclaimer with prayer is meant to warn people that God doesn't answer prayers, because he *does.* If our wills are aligned with God's will, our prayers WILL be answered and God’s will absolutely WILL happen, no matter how impossible it may seem, and no matter our own capabilities.
We are often asked to pray like everything depends on God and to work as though everything depends on us, and there is merit in those words. We absolutely should be out there making an effort to improve. Perhaps though, we go too far in expecting ourselves to become perfect. Not saying we should slack off, because of course we should work, and keep working, to grow closer to God and to improve ourselves. I am talking more about how much we can sometimes hate ourselves for our failings. We don’t need to hate ourselves at all. We just need to keep going and trying… what we are is enough, if we keep trying… or rather, how capable we are currently doesn’t matter at all in the fulfillment of God’s will. Our faith shouldn't be tied to our own capability, but to God. If we do as God asks, God will provide a way, and *make* us capable, as he did for Nephi, and the Brother of Jared, and Noah, and Joseph Smith, and so many others. We just have to have the faith to follow the path.
God asked Nephi and his brothers to retrieve the brass plates, and it was hard. He asked many people in the scriptures to build boats, ships, arks, or barges. None of them knew how. He further asked them to accomplish great works to save people and lead them to safety. He asked them to conquer the unconquerable, and win the unwinnable, and to do the impossible, over and over and over again. God asked Moses to part the Red Sea, and Abraham to sacrifice his son, and Joseph Smith to translate ancient records. The fact that they even tried to do those impossible things for God is a testament to their faith is his ability to make them equal to the task.
God asks all of us to do hard things, including keep his commandments, and we don’t always know why, and we often don’t understand how getting to where God wants us to be is even possible. We often doubt our own capabilities. But if we have the faith to do it anyway, to the best of our ability, God will increase our ability, our hope, and our joy, and he will lead us to miracles, and make us capable of accomplishing them. He is constantly leading us to all good, and making us better than we could ever dream to be. Today, let’s trust in him, and not in our own strength.
Therefore let us go up; let us be strong like unto Moses; for he truly spake unto the waters of the Red Sea and they divided hither and thither, and our fathers came through, out of captivity, on dry ground, and the armies of Pharaoh did follow and were drowned in the waters of the Red Sea.
Now behold ye know that this is true; and ye also know that an angel hath spoken unto you; wherefore can ye doubt? Let us go up; the Lord is able to deliver us, even as our fathers, and to destroy Laban, even as the Egyptians.”
1 Nephi 4:1-3
The thing that strikes me today about these verses is the idea that it is God that makes us capable. He provides a way (see 1 Nephi 3:7). The brothers had tried to do things the right way in the beginning and talk to Laban about it, and Nephi had already tried everything he could think of when they went back to gather up all their wealth and offer it to Laban in return for the plates. As humans they came up short.
They were understandably scared to try again after Laban tried to have them killed, and stole all of their stuff. The thing is, they (and we) aren’t dependent only on their own capabilities. In actual fact, God will provide. Beyond our understanding and beyond our capability, God will make the impossible happen so that his will can be accomplished.
We always put disclaimers in when we speak of answers to prayer, and we should… sometimes our wills and God’s will don’t mesh completely, or we want God to violate another person's agency, or our timing and God's timing are different. But no disclaimer with prayer is meant to warn people that God doesn't answer prayers, because he *does.* If our wills are aligned with God's will, our prayers WILL be answered and God’s will absolutely WILL happen, no matter how impossible it may seem, and no matter our own capabilities.
We are often asked to pray like everything depends on God and to work as though everything depends on us, and there is merit in those words. We absolutely should be out there making an effort to improve. Perhaps though, we go too far in expecting ourselves to become perfect. Not saying we should slack off, because of course we should work, and keep working, to grow closer to God and to improve ourselves. I am talking more about how much we can sometimes hate ourselves for our failings. We don’t need to hate ourselves at all. We just need to keep going and trying… what we are is enough, if we keep trying… or rather, how capable we are currently doesn’t matter at all in the fulfillment of God’s will. Our faith shouldn't be tied to our own capability, but to God. If we do as God asks, God will provide a way, and *make* us capable, as he did for Nephi, and the Brother of Jared, and Noah, and Joseph Smith, and so many others. We just have to have the faith to follow the path.
God asked Nephi and his brothers to retrieve the brass plates, and it was hard. He asked many people in the scriptures to build boats, ships, arks, or barges. None of them knew how. He further asked them to accomplish great works to save people and lead them to safety. He asked them to conquer the unconquerable, and win the unwinnable, and to do the impossible, over and over and over again. God asked Moses to part the Red Sea, and Abraham to sacrifice his son, and Joseph Smith to translate ancient records. The fact that they even tried to do those impossible things for God is a testament to their faith is his ability to make them equal to the task.
God asks all of us to do hard things, including keep his commandments, and we don’t always know why, and we often don’t understand how getting to where God wants us to be is even possible. We often doubt our own capabilities. But if we have the faith to do it anyway, to the best of our ability, God will increase our ability, our hope, and our joy, and he will lead us to miracles, and make us capable of accomplishing them. He is constantly leading us to all good, and making us better than we could ever dream to be. Today, let’s trust in him, and not in our own strength.
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