"And thou didst hear me because of mine afflictions and my sincerity; and it is because of thy Son that thou hast been thus merciful unto me, therefore I will cry unto thee in all mine afflictions, for in thee is my joy; for thou hast turned thy judgments away from me, because of thy Son."
Alma 33:11
This is Alma quoting Zenos the prophet "of old." We don't have any other record of his words other than the Book of Mormon that I know of, but it might have been one of the prophets that were recorded on the brass plates. I like the phrase "in thee is my joy" a lot. We don't always see that, but it is so true. We look for joy in a lot of places that it can't be found, but it is always waiting for us when we return to God, even though we always seem to be surprised that it was waiting there all along. :)
Afflictions and sincerity seem to go together here. God hears us when we are sincere and afflicted... Christ has compassion for our suffering because he knows how it feels, and when we're honestly seeking him we can get closer to him. ... And sometimes I think that affliction really triggers that sincerity. When life is going great sometimes we blow off that important communication with God, but when we need him, then we are totally focused. I don't think it is a good thing that we are that wishy-washy, but it is at least something good that comes out of our afflictions. It helps bring us closer to God and helps us understand and rely on him more than when things are going fine.
Today, let's be thankful for Christ who is our advocate, and for the opportunity that we have to repent, to know God, and to find our joy in him.
No comments:
Post a Comment