"And now, O king, if thou wilt spare our lives, we will be thy servants. And the king said unto them: Arise, for I will grant unto you your lives, and I will not suffer that ye shall be my servants; but I will insist that ye shall administer unto me; for I have been somewhat troubled in mind because of the generosity and the greatness of the words of thy brother Ammon; and I desire to know the cause why he has not come up out of Middoni with thee.
And Aaron said unto the king: Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he has gone to the land of Ishmael, to teach the people of Lamoni."
Alma 22:3-4
This is part of a cool missionary story with the father of Lamoni. At the beginning though, it is Aaron and his brethren coming before the king and not really being certain that they were going to be treated well, because the king had never seen them before. The king had met Ammon, and wanted to talk to him instead.
I like the part where Aaron tells the king that the Lord has called Ammon another way, because I think that is something that happens with all of us. Things don't go the way that we wanted or expected... a lot. We aren't always sent where we expect to go either, but the Lord works with each of us in different ways. I think this idea of "another way" or there being many ways that the spirit can guide us, and many good choices, helps us to adjust our expectations, both for ourselves and of others.
Instead of being rigid about how God works with us, or strict about exactly how other people should follow God's teachings, maybe we can relax a little bit, understanding that God is working with all of us to bring to pass his will, and focusing on our own relationship with God and letting him work with others another way. That doesn't mean that there is more than one straight and narrow path of course, but perhaps we sometimes focus on comparing speed or walking style rather than being focused on where we're going. :)
Today let's do our best to trust in God and in the way that he works in our lives, whatever comes--including who he brings into our lives, and where he sends us. He knows better than we do, and he is directing all things to work together for good. Eventually, things will work out, and all will be made right. It just might not be in the way we expect. That's okay, because God can see further than we can, so he can avoid the tangles that would likely result if we were in charge, and lead all of us to his happy ending. :)
And Aaron said unto the king: Behold, the Spirit of the Lord has called him another way; he has gone to the land of Ishmael, to teach the people of Lamoni."
Alma 22:3-4
This is part of a cool missionary story with the father of Lamoni. At the beginning though, it is Aaron and his brethren coming before the king and not really being certain that they were going to be treated well, because the king had never seen them before. The king had met Ammon, and wanted to talk to him instead.
I like the part where Aaron tells the king that the Lord has called Ammon another way, because I think that is something that happens with all of us. Things don't go the way that we wanted or expected... a lot. We aren't always sent where we expect to go either, but the Lord works with each of us in different ways. I think this idea of "another way" or there being many ways that the spirit can guide us, and many good choices, helps us to adjust our expectations, both for ourselves and of others.
Instead of being rigid about how God works with us, or strict about exactly how other people should follow God's teachings, maybe we can relax a little bit, understanding that God is working with all of us to bring to pass his will, and focusing on our own relationship with God and letting him work with others another way. That doesn't mean that there is more than one straight and narrow path of course, but perhaps we sometimes focus on comparing speed or walking style rather than being focused on where we're going. :)
Today let's do our best to trust in God and in the way that he works in our lives, whatever comes--including who he brings into our lives, and where he sends us. He knows better than we do, and he is directing all things to work together for good. Eventually, things will work out, and all will be made right. It just might not be in the way we expect. That's okay, because God can see further than we can, so he can avoid the tangles that would likely result if we were in charge, and lead all of us to his happy ending. :)
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