I’m feeling a little stress this morning. A La Mode, NWOUT, Vision, The U, the sponsorship for the U, what God’s will is for me at this point in my career, and I’m not feeling good physically – all these are contributing to the stress.
Becky and I had a great night last night and I feel so connected to her. We went to Madi’s dance recital and were both so impressed with how good she did and how awesome the studio is. We go again tonight to watch both Madi and Chloe, which will be fun.
How Do I Understand the Will of God for Me
As I thought about what to study today, this question came to mind.
So I looked up “understanding God’s will for me” and found an article that seems to be a good one. It’s titled “Discerning the Will of the Lord for Me.”
This quote stood out:
President Ezra Taft Benson said, “The great task of life is to learn the will of the Lord and then do it” (Ezra Taft Benson, “The Great Commandment—Love the Lord,” Ensign, May 1988, 4).
I feel like I do know some of the will of God for me: pray, study, write, surrender, live in recovery, keep my chin up. But I guess I’m looking for more direction about my path career wise right now.
Doctrine & Covenants 58: 26–28 is a good answer too:
For behold, it is not meet that I should command in all things; for he that is compelled in all things, the same is a slothful and not a wise servant. . . .
Verily I say, men should be anxiously engaged in a good cause, and do many things of their own free will, and bring to pass much righteousness;
For the power is in them, wherein they are agents unto themselves.
Sister Valentine suggests:
If we are going to become as God is, we will have to learn to make decisions—even decisions of great importance—on our own initiative.
This is the concern I have too:
Even though this process seems quite clear, I have struggled with striking this balance between agency and inspiration. At one extreme, I have felt that the Lord has more important things to do than listen to my concerns. This attitude has at times fostered a spirit of pride and a propensity to not seek His input at all and to just do things my own way.
Pride.
Doing things my own way.
Not thinking that God has time to help me decide between continuing to pursue MM vs focusing a lot on the sponsorship program with the U. Does God even care about those things?
Yes, I think He does.
Am I patient enough and faithful enough to do all I can and ask for His help? I hope so.
This is an interesting answer:
When confronted with a problem I prayerfully weigh in my mind alternative solutions and come to a conclusion as to which of them is best. Then in prayer I submit to the Lord my problem, tell him I desire to make the right choice, [and] what is, in my judgment, the right course. Then I ask him if I have made the right decision to give me the burning in my bosom that He promised Oliver Cowdery. When enlightenment and peace come into my mind, I know the Lord is saying yes. If I have a “stupor of thought,” I know he is saying no, and I try again, following the same procedure. When we learn to distinguish between the inspiration that comes from the Spirit of the Lord and that which comes from our own uninspired hopes and desires, we need make no mistakes.[Marion G. Romney, “Q&A: Questions and Answers,” New Era, October 1975, p. 35]
Have I done this?
Am I willing to do this?
Do I believe it can work for me?
Sister Valentine gave 6 suggestions on barriers that might interfere with personal revelation:
- We haven’t made a decision
- We haven’t learned how to listen
- We’re too intent on wanting what we want
- Our hearts aren’t prepared to receive His answers
- We lack faith or confidence in our Heavenly Father
- We don’t recognize answers when they come.
I look forward to a day in recovery today. After taking a shower and getting ready for the day, I think I’m feeling better and hope to be able to tackle projects one by one and get things done.
Hasta luego!
Nate
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