A woman speaking in church today said "God is so good, I could never be unhappy with anything He chooses to give me."
While I personally can't say that I am never unhappy with anything God chooses to give me, it was something interesting to think about.
God wants us to be happy, He only wants the best for us. He knows that by sending us the trials He chooses to send us that it is the best thing for us at that time in our lives. That doesn't suddenly make things easier, but to me it does bring hope.
Tonight as we did family scriptures before putting our daughter to bed, we were reading in Helaman chapter 5. It is where Nephi and Lehi are in prison and are overshadowed by a dark cloud (verse 28). Then a voice speaks to them in verses 29-30. Verse 34 talks about the people being immovable because of the fear that came upon them. Then Verse 41 really stuck out to us. It talks about how they needed to "repent, and cry unto the voice, even until ye shall have faith in Christ."
It was a nice comparison for me from verse 34 to verse 41 to show that faith and fear cannot coexist. They were afraid and unable to move, then they were told to pray until they had faith.
I can take the small glimmers of hope that I get every once in a while and use them to help me pray until I have faith, driving the fear away. I would love to be able to say that I am not afraid of anything God chooses to give me, because I know He will also help me get through it.
I honestly don't think God chooses to give us some of the trials we face. I don't believe that. I think that we are free agents subjected to the will of others, which means the will of our spouses. I can't imagine a loving God choosing to have his daughters suffer at the hands of their husbands, or their children at the hands of their fathers. I believe that because there is free agency there He doesn't always intervene in the way we want. He strengthens us through adversity because he loves us, hurts while we hurt. And though we don't know it at the time, he pours out His numerous tender mercies on us.
ReplyDeleteI agree with you - and I should have clarified. I should have said something along the lines of choosing to be happy with what God allows to happen to me, either things that are trials or the natural consequences of the actions of others. He doesn't choose to let us suffer, but He allows us to suffer and strengthens us through it. Thanks for your comment!
DeleteGetting past fear is huge! Good for u. Its takes a lot of faith and love to let go of fear.
ReplyDeleteI definitely am not quite there yet! As you know, some days are better than others. Thanks for the encouragement :)
DeleteI see, I spupsoe that would have to be the case.
ReplyDelete