Faith and Trusting God

We finished up the book of Helaman Sunday. I know I have read it before, but reading it this time was SO intense. It was so relevant to our times. Maybe it's the election. Maybe it's having it so close to the anniversary of 9-11 and all the emotions and memories it brought up. Maybe it's the Spirit witnessing that we need to be alert and prepared. I asked my class if they had any different reactions to reading it this time and several had the same reaction I did. It was very unsettling to do my reading and then watch the news, as Tom does every day. I started this deja vu thing as I was reading..."Didn't I just see this on Fox News? Didn't CNN just cover this?" And as I watched the news, scriptures kept popping up in my head as I watched.

One thing I came away with, was how the Lord ALWAYS supports those whom are faithful, firm and resolute in obeying the commandments. He always gives warnings. We don't always listen, but He always gives us a chance to change our path before it everlastingly too late. And there IS a point where it IS too late to repent and obey.

Our class talked a lot about that - concerning emergency preparedness. Kind of the Ant and the Grasshopper story. When you NEED the food and supplies, it's too late to go get them. As I mentioned before, this has been an issue of much prompting. I now have two cases of MRE's in the garage. I WILL have our 72-hr kit ready by conference and am still adding to our 3 month supply.

We had a couple come from Corvallis to give talks on Sunday. (Our little branch is so little, we get guest speakers from neighboring wards. Otherwise we would just be giving talks one after each other, round-robin-style) The wife had the best image for trusting the Lord. I will share her story, after a little background.

I've loved Pres. Packer's symbolism is comparing faith to standing on a dark street, under a street light. Wherever the light falls, symbolizes our faith. The time comes, occasionally, when we have have to step out of the circle of light. "Leap of faith" comes to mind. The miracle is that when we stand on the edge of that light and take a step into the darkness, by the time our foot hits the ground, the light has expanded to include the area where we now stand. The circle of light has grown and we aren't in the darkness; as we imagined we would be. Cool.

There are lots of examples in the scriptures of having to take the step before your faith is rewarded. When Moses divided the Red Sea. When Joshua divided the Jordan River. The men carrying the ark actually had to step into the water before it spread apart for them. They crossed on dry ground, but they had to step into water. Amazing message. President Spencer W. Kimball wrote a book Faith Precedes the Miracle.

In talking to my kids and teaching my Sunday School class, one of the things I have stressed is the importance of remembering past experiences of trusting the Lord. Looking back at His past dealings with you. My family has a rich shared experience of many blessing through harrowing times. We KNOW He knows our needs. We KNOW that if we follow His prompting, we will end up in a better situation than we were before. If we loose something that was hard to understand WHY you couldn't have it, we have seen it was because He had something better just down the road. If we had settled for our own desires, we would have missed the greater blessing He had waiting for us. I don't always know or understand the paths He takes me down, but I trust implicitly the worth of the walk.

So this sweet sister compared our experiences in faith to a starfish. (I LOVE beach combing analogies!) Have you ever tried to pry a starfish off a rock? It's extremely difficult because they have all these little sucker feet. You have to work them off, little by little. You can easily break off one of their arms before you are able to pry the whole body off. WE ARE LIKE THAT!

We work a few little "suckers" off our fear and take that step of faith. It turned out okay. We were blessed. Next time, we can release a few more, because we remember it worked out well the last time we trusted the Lord. Little by little, we are able to change our heart into a trusting one. Knowing our weaknesses, He never takes us to the breaking point.

I asked a bishop about that once. I said, "If Heavenly Father never gives you more than you can handle, why do some people have 'nervous breakdowns'?" (Oh, me of little faith....) I have always remembered his answer. He said that happens because of pride. Sometimes they get too proud to ask for help. The gospel works because we become ONE. We are to bear one another's burdens. To help bear them, we have to know about them. He gives us weakness to make us humble; to come to Him and He will make our weak areas strong. He also tells us not to run faster than we have strength. Gauge our activities and commitments. Keep our priorities straight. God. Family. Church. Employment.

Stephen Covey says, "“The main thing is to keep the main thing, the main thing.” Stress comes when your external priorities are in conflict with your internal priorities.

I wish I could just remember that when things are getting tough in areas of my life, that is usually a big billboard warning that I need to increase my spirituality. Conflict at home? Trouble at work? World bearing down on me? The answer is always more prayer and scriptures. It works every time.