In Times of Challenge

In times of challenge and testing:

In this mortal sphere we have the opportunity to have some very wonderful moments of joy and happiness, moments of success and acceptance, moments of aloneness and despair and moments of what sometimes seems like long periods of challenge and testing. All trials bring balance but not all are equally appreciated especially by yours truly. It has been my experience that true learning experiences which are critical to emotional, psychological and spiritual growth are, at the time, least enjoyable but most productive.

Sometimes the relief from such experiences may come soon and sometimes it may not come for a very long time. There are a few examples from scripture that stand out in my mind that illustrate the workings of  the Lord, there are many examples but these few seem to fit the purpose of this post.

First: In Genesis 18 we find Abraham and Sarah who “were old and well stricken in age; and it ceased to be with Sarah after the manner of women.” Sarah in her old age had wanted children for a long time and had never been blessed with any. She is now past the age where she could have children. It would be reasonable to assume she would anticipate having no children in this life. However, the messengers of the Lord have just spoken to Abraham and Sarah saying “Is anything too hard for the Lord?” Even to making a womb that had been fallow for ninety years fertile! Sarah did conceive and did give birth to a baby boy, Isaac, who would be a man of God like unto his father, Abraham.

Many centuries later just prior to the birth of the Savior another devout and righteous woman was well stricken in years and childless as was Sarah. This woman, know as Elisabeth, was told she too would give birth to a baby boy and as reassurance the angel speaking her said, "For with God nothing shall be impossible." So it was then and so it is in our day, as well.

Sometimes we have to wait upon the Lord when His timing is different from our own, but the blessings that eventually come, in time are then, to us, far greater and much more appreciated than if they had come early on in our trail.

Second: In Judges 7 Gideon was called of the Lord to defeat the great Midianite and Amalekite armies that were like “grasshoppers for the multitude”. However the Lord told Gideon his army of 22,000 was too great because if they were victorious they would think they were saved by there own hand and not by God’s hand. So the Lord reduced the army to 300. Following the Lord’s directions an army of 300 scattered the armies that was so great they looked like a field of grasshoppers. In time Gideon and his army destroyed those enemies who sought to destroy them.

When we face what seems to be insurmountable trials or challenges if we will turn to the Lord with all our heart, mind and soul and with faith in the Lord Jesus Christ fully depending upon Him and doing what He asks of us then in His way and in His time we will be victorious.

The third example comes from the Book of Mormon Another Testament of Jesus Christ. The first chapter of the first book called the First Book of Nephi we find a statement that helps us understand in part the great blessings that come to all who have faith in Him. The verse, in part, reads as follows:

But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance. (1 Nephi 1:20)

Nephi and his family were required to do many difficult things one of them was to leave their home and all of their treasured belonging in 600 B.C. prior to the Babylonian captivity of the residents of Jerusalem which occurred in 587 B.C. They traveled for 8 years in the Arabian wilderness enduring many privations, hunger, thirst and the danger of robbers. Albeit hard for us to imagine in our present day just how much they suffered, in retrospect Nephi gives this testimonial;

And it came to pass that we did again take our journey in the wilderness; and we did travel nearly eastward from that time forth. And we did travel and wade through much affliction in the wilderness; and our women did bear children in the wilderness.

 And so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us, that while we did live upon raw meat in the wilderness, our women did give plenty of suck for their children, and were strong, yea, even like unto the men; and they began to bear their journeyings without murmurings.

 And thus we see that the commandments of God must be fulfilled. And if it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them; wherefore, he did provide means for us while we did sojourn in the wilderness. (1 Nephi 17:1-3, underline added)

And so it is in this life we may be called upon to do very hard things, we may be required to travel in our own figurative wilderness for a period of time. But if so, we may be assured no matter how difficult that journey is if we do keep the commandments of God we will be sustained and we will be able to say “so great were the blessings of the Lord upon us. . .” seeing more clearly in hindsight what may not have been fully visible during the journey.

It is my belief and my testimony that God the Father is in fact our Eternal Father, we are His spirit children and He never leaves us alone even when we choose to leave Him. His love for us is incomprehensible, it never wanes, we are His children and He wants us to return to His presence thus He never ceases to grant us blessings without taking away our ability to choose for ourselves if we want to accept those blessings under all conditions.  And further it is my Testimony that Jesus Christ is our Savior who was the only born son of God in the flesh in this mortal sphere and that He has borne the burden of our sufferings as it says in the Book of Mormon:

 And he shall go forth, suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind; and this that the word might be fulfilled which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people.

 And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities. (Alma 7:10-12)

May His peace rest upon you and in your heart that your burdens may be made light and that your eyes may see His eternal grace when you are feeling the heavy trials that may come upon you during this mortal journey in which we are all engaged.