Wow, I haven't posted here in over a year. That's mainly because I've been teaching seminary and time was short. It's summer now though, and I'm not teaching next year, so I'm looking forward to the things I can do with the extra time--mainly, write write write.
One of the things that came up repeatedly in the Old Testament as I was teaching was acting in faith. The widow at Zarephath acted in faith when she listened to the prophet Elijah's request for food. She used her last portion of meal to feed him, expecting her and her son to starve to death afterward, but the Lord blessed her for this act of faith--her meal never ran out. Later, Elijah raised her son from the dead. Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego acted in faith as slaves of the Persians. Daniel was thrown to the lions for praying while the other three men were cast into a fire for refusing to bow down to the king's idol. All of them expressed their trust in God, confident that he could deliver them if he chose, and if it weren't his will to save them from death they would trust him anyway. Esther acted in faith, not knowing whether she would be killed for intruding on the king, or if he would listen to her plea for the lives of her people.
These stories have really stuck with me. They are, of course, all stories of being blessed for acting in faith. But there was also Jeremiah, who was persecuted for prophesying of the destruction of Israel--and still suffered more persecution when he proved to be right. In The Book of Mormon we also have Abinadi, who knew the Lord could deliver him if he chose, but it wasn't in God's plan to save him from being murdered by the priests of Noah. I just started reading The Book of Mormon since seminary has been over, and of course I came across 1 Nephi 3:7: "...I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
What that scripture doesn't say is that yes, the Lord will prepare a way, but that doesn't mean that we will emerge unscathed. Not only do we need to trust that the Lord will support us in what he asks us to do, but trust in him even when it doesn't turn out the way we expect. I've learned that lesson gradually over many promptings and experiences I've had the last several years. I'm loving reading 1 Nephi again because it gives us the dual examples of Nephi, who never fails to trust in the Lord, and his brothers who, even though they've seen the same proof and received the same blessings he has, choose not to when things get difficult. That's all it is, a simple choice: you either trust the Lord or you don't. I hope I can prove to do the former.
One of the things that came up repeatedly in the Old Testament as I was teaching was acting in faith. The widow at Zarephath acted in faith when she listened to the prophet Elijah's request for food. She used her last portion of meal to feed him, expecting her and her son to starve to death afterward, but the Lord blessed her for this act of faith--her meal never ran out. Later, Elijah raised her son from the dead. Daniel and his friends Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego acted in faith as slaves of the Persians. Daniel was thrown to the lions for praying while the other three men were cast into a fire for refusing to bow down to the king's idol. All of them expressed their trust in God, confident that he could deliver them if he chose, and if it weren't his will to save them from death they would trust him anyway. Esther acted in faith, not knowing whether she would be killed for intruding on the king, or if he would listen to her plea for the lives of her people.
These stories have really stuck with me. They are, of course, all stories of being blessed for acting in faith. But there was also Jeremiah, who was persecuted for prophesying of the destruction of Israel--and still suffered more persecution when he proved to be right. In The Book of Mormon we also have Abinadi, who knew the Lord could deliver him if he chose, but it wasn't in God's plan to save him from being murdered by the priests of Noah. I just started reading The Book of Mormon since seminary has been over, and of course I came across 1 Nephi 3:7: "...I know that the Lord giveth no commandments unto the children of men save he shall prepare a way for them to accomplish the thing which he commandeth them."
What that scripture doesn't say is that yes, the Lord will prepare a way, but that doesn't mean that we will emerge unscathed. Not only do we need to trust that the Lord will support us in what he asks us to do, but trust in him even when it doesn't turn out the way we expect. I've learned that lesson gradually over many promptings and experiences I've had the last several years. I'm loving reading 1 Nephi again because it gives us the dual examples of Nephi, who never fails to trust in the Lord, and his brothers who, even though they've seen the same proof and received the same blessings he has, choose not to when things get difficult. That's all it is, a simple choice: you either trust the Lord or you don't. I hope I can prove to do the former.
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