Dealing with Opposition in All Things

What do I need to study today?

I’m feeling anxious.

I’m feeling fearful.

I’m feeling a bit overwhelmed.

I’m feeling frustrated with a client.

I’m feeling behind schedule with some projects.

I saw an article this morning about 3 powerful practices to do to make business a success. I’m going to review it and see how that applies to life.

The 3 Powerful Practices to Become a BIG Success in 2016

Practice 1: Start your entire day with a positive, grounding ritual

As I wrote these out from the article, which I haven’t even read fully yet, they made sense for recovery as well.

Starting my day out by thinking, praying, reading, writing, reflecting, surrendering – this is a “positive, grounding ritual.”

Practice 2: Take the time to plan your entire day (and perhaps your week) beforehand

Taking time to plan my entire DAY beforehand has always felt so good when I do it. I could look over the week, but since I’m trying to live one day at a time, I’ll focus most on what I can do today in this moment, and then go from there.

Practice 3: Take the time to check in with your business as well as your goals at least once a month

Check-in’s 🙂 I think this relates to surrender, it relates to ongoing prayer and communication with God, and it also relates to boundaries and weapons of war. I think it’s a good idea to review my boundaries and weapons of war at the start of every month – I’m going to add that to my calendar on the first day of the month. Not only will it remind me of where I’m going, but it will be a good, positive, grounding ritual I can practice for the rest of my life.

I can also add to those things as I see needs.

I just went to LDS.org to see what articles were featured there, and I found one that makes sense to me right now: Opposition in All Things by Elder Oaks.

Here are some of the quotes that stuck out:

…we progress by making choices, by which we are tested to show that we will keep God’s commandments (see Abraham 3:25). To be tested, we must have the agency to choose between alternatives. To provide alternatives on which to exercise our agency, we must have opposition.

Whenever I read about agency, I think about addiction and how it’s the tool of Satan to destroy or takeaway my agency. Some opposition can literally rob me of my freedom to choose. There’s a reason why freedom to choose is one of the gifts God gave us when we came to this earth, and there’s a reason why Satan is doing all he can to take away that gift.

Lehi taught his son Jacob this truth clearly:

“It must needs be, that there is an opposition in all things. If not so, … righteousness could not be brought to pass, neither wickedness, neither holiness nor misery, neither good nor bad” (2 Nephi 2:11; see also verse 15).

“the Lord God gave unto man that he should act for himself. Wherefore, man could not act for himself save it should be that he was enticed by the one or the other” (verse 16).

And here is Satan’s plan:

From the beginning, agency and opposition were central to the Father’s plan and to Satan’s rebellion against it. As the Lord revealed to Moses, in the council of heaven Satan “sought to destroy the agency of man” (Moses 4:3). That destruction was inherent in the terms of Satan’s offer. He came before the Father and said, “Behold, here am I, send me, I will be thy son, and I will redeem all mankind, that one soul shall not be lost, and surely I will do it; wherefore give me thine honor” (Moses 4:1).

It’s so clear to me today that addiction is part of that plan of Satan’s. Addiction is defined as

…a condition that results when a person ingests a substance (e.g., alcohol, cocaine, nicotine) or engages in an activity (e.g., gambling, sex, shopping) that can be pleasurable but the continued use/act of which becomes compulsive and interferes with ordinary life responsibilities, such as work, relationships, or health. Users may not be aware that their behavior is out of control and causing problems for themselves and others.

I think this is interesting as well:

People compulsively use drugs, gamble, or shop nearly always in reaction to being emotionally stressed, whether or not they have a physical addiction. Since these psychologically based addictions are not based on drug or brain effects, they can account for why people frequently switch addictive actions from one drug to a completely different kind of drug, or even to a non-drug behavior. The focus of the addiction isn’t what matters; it’s the need to take action under certain kinds of stress. Treating this kind of addiction requires an understanding of how it works psychologically.

Satan wants us to be addicts – to deal with opposition by numbing out and not even realizing what we’re doing.

Satan’s proposal would have ensured perfect equality: it would “redeem all mankind,” that not one soul would be lost. There would be no agency or choice by anyone and, therefore, no need for opposition. There would be no test, no failure, and no success. There would be no growth to attain the purpose the Father desired for His children.

Cast down as unembodied spirits in mortality, Satan and his followers tempt and seek to deceive and captivate the children of God (seeMoses 4:4).

Captivate is synonymous with addiction I feel. As an addict, I’m held captive to do things I don’t ultimately want to do. I’m bound in chains.

I really like this quote from President Monson about trials and feel it describes where Becky and I have been and are:

“Our mortal life, however, was never meant to be easy or consistently pleasant. Our Heavenly Father … knows that we learn and grow and become refined through hard challenges, heartbreaking sorrows, and difficult choices. Each one of us experiences dark days when our loved ones pass away, painful times when our health is lost, feelings of being forsaken when those we love seem to have abandoned us. These and other trials present us with the real test of our ability to endure.”⁴

Elder Oaks finishes by talking about 3 ways Satan will force opposition on us in the last days.

3 Ways Satan Pushes Opposition in All Things

1. Rage in the hearts of the children of men, and stir them up to anger against that which is good (2 Nephi 28:20)
2. Pacify, and lull [members] away into carnal security,” saying “Zion prospereth, all is well” (verse 21)
3. He will tell us “there is no hell; and … I am no devil, for there is none” (verse 22), and therefore there is no right and wrong.

I’m grateful for this study.

I feel the opposition in my work at times. I know that I need to ask God what I should do in specific situations; He will be there for me and answer my questions if I’m patient and willing to listen with an open heart.

I’m grateful for my wife. I love her so much and am grateful she communicates with me. I feel close to her today and want to help her feel safe.

I love my kids too. I want to be nicer to them, more patient with them, and teach them through good example as opposed to always harping on them.

I look forward to a good day in recovery.

Hasta luego!

Nate