"Do not murmur, my son, for it is wisdom in me that I have dealt with you after this manner.
Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me."
Doctrine and Covenants 9:6-7
As the new year approaches and we begin thinking of resolutions this seems appropriate. Often when we think of changing our lives or doing better we turn to the Lord, but unfortunately we stop there and don't do anything more than ask. It's totally easy to think that is the way that things work. Oliver (who is the person God is talking to in these verses) probably thought that was the right thing to do. He asked God for a talent that he had seen someone else use, and it probably seemed effortless. Like so many things that we want to change in our own lives though, it wasn't, and things rarely are. God probably could have teleported Nephi and his family to the promised land, or levitated the Israelites over the Red Sea, but active participation in our own miracles helps us to learn faith and trust and patience and effort and tons of other things that God wants us to learn so that we are active participants in the world rather than just sitting back and waiting for someone to feed us.
God wants to help us grow and improve, but if we don't put forth some effort, God might tell us to move on to something else, as he did with Oliver. It's kind of like a child, right? You can't help him learn to tie his shoes or ride a bike if there is no effort on the child's part. A bike can't ride itself, and although you can tie a kid's shoes *for* him, that isn't the same as him learning it, at all. It's the same with us. God can help us learn and show us how and even knock down some obstacles in the way of our learning, but he's not going to just do it for us. Even self-driving cars require you to open the door and get in and out, bare minimum. :) So, as we consider what we want to change in our lives, let's consider also what we are actually going to put some effort into learning and changing. Those are the things that God can help us with, and if they are good changes, he can help us overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers (even ones we may have contributed to ourselves such as addictions and toxic self-perceptions). His help is truly miraculous, but it still has to be fueled by a little bit of hope and faith and effort so that *we* learn it, and can hold on to the lesson even after God takes off the training wheels.
Today, let's think about the things that we are asking God for, and consider what effort we can put into those requests. There are probably some requests where there isn't anything we can currently do, and it truly is all in the Lord's hands, and that's okay... but very often, there is something we can do, or a way to more actively participate, and there is almost always something we can learn. When there is, let's study it out in our minds, and do whatever research or take whatever action is needed. As we practice this active type of asking, and make even the tiniest effort, God will bless us, and we will find our way forward, however slowly, to our righteous goals.
Behold, you have not understood; you have supposed that I would give it unto you, when you took no thought save it was to ask me."
Doctrine and Covenants 9:6-7
As the new year approaches and we begin thinking of resolutions this seems appropriate. Often when we think of changing our lives or doing better we turn to the Lord, but unfortunately we stop there and don't do anything more than ask. It's totally easy to think that is the way that things work. Oliver (who is the person God is talking to in these verses) probably thought that was the right thing to do. He asked God for a talent that he had seen someone else use, and it probably seemed effortless. Like so many things that we want to change in our own lives though, it wasn't, and things rarely are. God probably could have teleported Nephi and his family to the promised land, or levitated the Israelites over the Red Sea, but active participation in our own miracles helps us to learn faith and trust and patience and effort and tons of other things that God wants us to learn so that we are active participants in the world rather than just sitting back and waiting for someone to feed us.
God wants to help us grow and improve, but if we don't put forth some effort, God might tell us to move on to something else, as he did with Oliver. It's kind of like a child, right? You can't help him learn to tie his shoes or ride a bike if there is no effort on the child's part. A bike can't ride itself, and although you can tie a kid's shoes *for* him, that isn't the same as him learning it, at all. It's the same with us. God can help us learn and show us how and even knock down some obstacles in the way of our learning, but he's not going to just do it for us. Even self-driving cars require you to open the door and get in and out, bare minimum. :) So, as we consider what we want to change in our lives, let's consider also what we are actually going to put some effort into learning and changing. Those are the things that God can help us with, and if they are good changes, he can help us overcome seemingly insurmountable barriers (even ones we may have contributed to ourselves such as addictions and toxic self-perceptions). His help is truly miraculous, but it still has to be fueled by a little bit of hope and faith and effort so that *we* learn it, and can hold on to the lesson even after God takes off the training wheels.
Today, let's think about the things that we are asking God for, and consider what effort we can put into those requests. There are probably some requests where there isn't anything we can currently do, and it truly is all in the Lord's hands, and that's okay... but very often, there is something we can do, or a way to more actively participate, and there is almost always something we can learn. When there is, let's study it out in our minds, and do whatever research or take whatever action is needed. As we practice this active type of asking, and make even the tiniest effort, God will bless us, and we will find our way forward, however slowly, to our righteous goals.
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