"Trust in the Lord, and do good; so shalt thou dwell in the land, and verily thou shalt be fed.
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
Psalms 37:3-5
These verses are great because they are like a bulleted list of things that we can do to improve our attitude towards, and relationship with, God.
Trust is important because it is the foundation of faith. If we're constantly doubting our existing relationship with God, then we'll never be able to build on it and achieve the higher level of communication that is required for personal revelation or the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost... or the Ministering of Angels, etc. To reach the promised land, we have to believe that it exists, and that God has a better future in store than the past we are leaving behind.
Delight I think has everything to do with attitude here. Too often we look at our relationship with God as one of pure obligation and responsibility, thinking that if we suffer through, doing what we should (but not liking it very much), then someday we'll get to go to heaven and suddenly be filled with joy. And the truth is very different from that. In order to have joy after this life, we need to learn some now (Mormon 9:14). Also, God rewards us according to our desires (Alma 29:4-5, D&C 137:9, etc.) as well as our works. Attitude counts, which is one reason that God offers us help with changing our hearts (Alma 5:7, Mosiah 5:2, etc.). To really be on the same page with God and improve our relationship with him, we have to want to be there, and be happy about the things that we are working for.
Commitment is necessary in our relationship with God as well. It's like the parable of the tower (Luke 14:28-30). You don't start building a tower without thinking the whole thing through and knowing that you are going to be able to afford it. Similarly, we can't enter into a covenant relationship with God and then go break it with Satan. We have to choose "this day" to serve the Lord (Moses 6:33, Joshua 24:15, Alma 30:8).
Today, let's work on trusting that God has a happy ending in store for us, and let's enjoy the story with that in mind, continuing to turn the pages and never stopping or giving up until we reach that promised day.
Delight thyself also in the Lord; and he shall give thee the desires of thine heart.
Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass."
Psalms 37:3-5
These verses are great because they are like a bulleted list of things that we can do to improve our attitude towards, and relationship with, God.
Trust is important because it is the foundation of faith. If we're constantly doubting our existing relationship with God, then we'll never be able to build on it and achieve the higher level of communication that is required for personal revelation or the constant companionship of the Holy Ghost... or the Ministering of Angels, etc. To reach the promised land, we have to believe that it exists, and that God has a better future in store than the past we are leaving behind.
Delight I think has everything to do with attitude here. Too often we look at our relationship with God as one of pure obligation and responsibility, thinking that if we suffer through, doing what we should (but not liking it very much), then someday we'll get to go to heaven and suddenly be filled with joy. And the truth is very different from that. In order to have joy after this life, we need to learn some now (Mormon 9:14). Also, God rewards us according to our desires (Alma 29:4-5, D&C 137:9, etc.) as well as our works. Attitude counts, which is one reason that God offers us help with changing our hearts (Alma 5:7, Mosiah 5:2, etc.). To really be on the same page with God and improve our relationship with him, we have to want to be there, and be happy about the things that we are working for.
Commitment is necessary in our relationship with God as well. It's like the parable of the tower (Luke 14:28-30). You don't start building a tower without thinking the whole thing through and knowing that you are going to be able to afford it. Similarly, we can't enter into a covenant relationship with God and then go break it with Satan. We have to choose "this day" to serve the Lord (Moses 6:33, Joshua 24:15, Alma 30:8).
Today, let's work on trusting that God has a happy ending in store for us, and let's enjoy the story with that in mind, continuing to turn the pages and never stopping or giving up until we reach that promised day.
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