While there are many experiences like the one we are having today, full of spiritual power and confirmation, there are also days when we feel inadequate and unprepared, when doubt and confusion enter our spirits, when we have difficulty finding our spiritual footing. Part of our victory as disciples of Christ is what we do when these feelings come.
I just finished reading the talk by Elder Neil A. Andersen titled “You Know Enough“. What a great and perfect message for me today.
It talks about “choosing faith” over fear. I feel this is fitting for me: at times I’m pretty afraid of the decision I made to walk away from a fairly well paying job to do my own thing full time. At times I’m tempted to go back to a “secure job”, but then I remember that I received a very specific answer:
20 And now, my beloved brethren, seeing that our merciful God has given us so great knowledge concerning these things, let us remember him, and lay aside our sins, and not hang down our heads, for we are not cast off; nevertheless, we have been adriven out of the land of our inheritance; but we have been led to a bbetter land, for the Lord has made the sea our cpath, and we are upon an disle of the sea.
21 But great are the promises of the Lord unto them who are upon the aisles of the sea; wherefore as it says isles, there must needs be more than this, and they are inhabited also by our brethren.
22 For behold, the Lord God has aled away from time to time from the house of Israel, according to his will and pleasure. And now behold, the Lord remembereth all them who have been broken off, wherefore he remembereth us also.
23 Therefore, acheer up your hearts, and remember that ye are bfree to cact for yourselves—to dchoose the way of everlasting death or the way of eternal life.
24 Wherefore, my beloved brethren, areconcile yourselves to the bwill of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh; and remember, after ye are reconciled unto God, that it is only in and through the cgrace of God that ye are dsaved.
25 Wherefore, may God araise you from death by the power of the resurrection, and also from everlasting death by the power of the batonement, that ye may be received into the ceternal kingdom of God, that ye may praise him through grace divine. Amen.
This scripture has become one of my favorites. It says so many meaningful things that I feel are directed right at me.
I know Heavenly Father has given me great knowledge concerning my profession.
I know Heavenly Father has “driven [me] out of the land of [my] inheritance” – in this case, my first good job out of college.
I know Heavenly Father has led me to a “better land” and that I’m upon the “isles of the sea”.
I know Heavenly Father has great promises for me and that my “brethren” are on the isles of the sea too, and they are prepared to help me.
I know that I need to be happy and choose the way of eternal life.
I know that I need to “reconcile [myself] to the will of God, and not to the will of the devil and the flesh”.
I know that the power of the atonement will lead me to all the blessings that God has prepared for me and for my family.
I’m grateful for this knowledge. I know that God loves me and knows me. I know that He wants me to succeed and wants to bless me. I know that he can only bless me as I’m worthy and following the laws and commandments that were set for all of us in the beginning.
It’s been really interesting to read articles about the Brandon Davies situation. Brandon was recently suspended from the BYU basketball team for breaking the honor code by having sex with his girlfriend. It’s really sad because BYU was in 3rd place overall in the NCAA rankings, they had just received a potential #1 Seed in the tournament, and things looked promising. However, a rule is a rule and he knew what he signed when he came to BYU. I feel this is a PERFECT example of what we all knew when we left the spirit world to come to this earth. We knew exactly what the rules were. We knew God’s laws. We knew there would be consequences, both positive ones and negative ones, as we submitted our will to God or did our own will.
As I live my life, I need to remember this and always keep it in my remembrance.
I love my family.
I love the Lord.
I love the scriptures and the protection they give me against the “fiery darts of the adversary” as I read and study them.
I’m grateful I was able to wake up this morning and read my scriptures and the words of the prophets and write down my thoughts.
Today is going to be a great and productive day because I made this simple choice.
Hasta Manana!
Nate
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