Thursday, July 18, 2019

Alma 37:7-8 -- On Small Means and Enlarged Memories

"And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.
And now, it has hitherto been wisdom in God that these things should be preserved; for behold, they have enlarged the memory of this people, yea, and convinced many of the error of their ways, and brought them to the knowledge of their God unto the salvation of their souls."
Alma 37:7-8


We need a lot of reminders about this idea I think, because we tend to want something big and showy and dramatic ... a gigantic neon sign that says in a deep, booming voice "Yes, that's the right decision" or "No, don't take that job" or whatever it is. :)  But God sees all of it and he works the tapestry, pulling on a thread here and there, and we don't see the dramatic changes until much later, because all the changes leading there were incremental.

Interestingly though, there are occasionally some dramatic moments and they are captured in the scriptures.  Parting the sea, walking on the water, being swallowed by a giant fish... and that is part of what it is talking about here when it says that the scriptures have "enlarged the memory of this people."  That's one of the reasons that we read the scriptures, so that we can know how God works with us, and recognize his hand in our lives.  Sometimes there are dramatic moments in our own lives, but they aren't always reconizably dramatic to others, because they were hard or impossible for *us.*

Today, let's be sensitive to the big *and* small means that God is using to work with us in our lives.  Let's listen as he works to convince us of our errors, and helps us to learn about him and partake of his salvation.

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