Thursday, September 29, 2016

Mosiah 4:27 -- On Not Running Faster than Our Strength

"And see that all these things are done in wisdom and order; for it is not requisite that a man should run faster than he has strength. And again, it is expedient that he should be diligent, that thereby he might win the prize; therefore, all things must be done in order."
Mosiah 4:27


I like the ideas here that doing God's will requires more than just mindlessly rushing full steam ahead.  We have to think about what we're doing, and prioritize, and make wise decisions.  If we try to do everything at once, we're run out of strength before the marathon is over.  Instead, we have to sometimes conserve our energy and our resources so that we can keep going.  This probably means that sometimes it is okay to say no, that we don't have to double-book ourselves, and that it is okay to manage our stress levels sometimes by letting someone else handle it... even when we think we could do it better. :)  It of course doesn't mean that we shouldn't be "anxiously engaged in a good cause" (D&C 58:27), but allowing ourselves to get *too* anxious isn't going to help anyone, including God.  He wants us to be happy, not stressed so much that we're harming ourselves.

Today, let's never stop moving forward, but let's be smart about it, and make sure we aren't trying to go too fast and that we aren't hurting ourselves, or others, in the process.  Let's learn our lessons well, and prepare as we go, making sure we're understanding each step and not trying to do graduate level coursework while we're still in kindergarten.  It's a marathon, not a sprint.  Let's work for eternal goals, and stay healthy and happy on the journey, so that we can get to the end, and the prize of eternal life with God.

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