"Nevertheless, after much tribulation, the Lord did hear my cries, and did answer my prayers, and has made me an instrument in his hands in bringing so many of you to a knowledge of his truth."
Mosiah 23:10
The words "after much tribulation" are really important here. The Lord does hear our cries, and answer our prayers, and miraculous things *will* happen in our lives, but that payoff comes after some significant effort and experiencing some hard things. Just as the people struggling towards the tree of life in Lehi's dream had to go through a mist of darkness which represented temptation, and Nephi and his family suffered severe physical hardships, or like the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, or the many Pioneers who had to struggle crossing the plains... so too do we have to wade through hardships and tribulation on our way to the promised land and to receiving the promised blessings of God.
Today, let's not pay the impatience tax which can steal so much from us. Let's calmly move forward along the path, knowing that obstacles and darkness will sometimes come. Let's learn to navigate towards God *anyway* and to conquer our fears and retain our integrity. Let's be faithful, trusting God's timing rather than our own desires to have everything work out quickly and painlessly. God helps some things work out that way, but if everything did, we would likely learn very little.
Mosiah 23:10
The words "after much tribulation" are really important here. The Lord does hear our cries, and answer our prayers, and miraculous things *will* happen in our lives, but that payoff comes after some significant effort and experiencing some hard things. Just as the people struggling towards the tree of life in Lehi's dream had to go through a mist of darkness which represented temptation, and Nephi and his family suffered severe physical hardships, or like the Israelites had to wander in the wilderness for 40 years, or the many Pioneers who had to struggle crossing the plains... so too do we have to wade through hardships and tribulation on our way to the promised land and to receiving the promised blessings of God.
Today, let's not pay the impatience tax which can steal so much from us. Let's calmly move forward along the path, knowing that obstacles and darkness will sometimes come. Let's learn to navigate towards God *anyway* and to conquer our fears and retain our integrity. Let's be faithful, trusting God's timing rather than our own desires to have everything work out quickly and painlessly. God helps some things work out that way, but if everything did, we would likely learn very little.
No comments:
Post a Comment