On Adversity: the price to know God

January 21, 2012

 

On Adversity, the price to know God

 

I have just been thinking so much about adversity, about reaching, about how our trials refine us, about how God only requires all we can give – not that we can save ourselves or need to be more than we can ever be – we don’t need to be perfect, we cannot be perfect; it is only through Grace that we are saved.  We are saved by and because of the Atonement of Jesus Christ there is nothing we can do to earn it or to deserve it, it is done, He atoned for us and all that is required for salvation is that we look to Him that we accept His atonement, accept Jesus Christ, look to God and live. 

 

We have the opportunity however in this life to know God and to know Him we must pay the price, it’s a very heavy price, it costs in fact exactly all we can give – no more and no less but it costs everything we have.  We each are given in this life trials and temptations and pains and sorrows and suffering.  If you don’t feel that you have had trials that have torn at your very core requiring you to look to God because that is all you are able to do, don’t worry, you’ll have the chance.  If you feel like you are doing good, you are doing all the things you have been taught to do: read your scriptures, pray, attend your meetings, serve faithfully, attend the temple as often as you can, that is good, that is so good and it will help you when the sore trials come.  The fact is, there are no guarantees in life.  There is no way for us to save ourselves or protect ourselves from pain and trial by being as close to perfect as we can possibly be and more.  Life happens.  Opportunities to grow and stretch and to know God, they come.  Sometimes we can see them coming or we get this feeling like life is so good – something big is on it’s way and we study even harder, stretch even further and examine our lives for those grey areas and step up our game to prepare ourselves for the inevitable, that is so good and it is helpful.  Sometimes trials hit us out of the blue, completely unexpectedly and sometimes the come raining down when we already feel we’re knee or waist deep in the mud.  They come, that is life.  These earthly experiences are why we’re here in fact the hard things we do and the hard things we go through are exactly why we are here – to learn and to grow – to learn to love God, to depend on Him, to rely on Him, to desire with all our hearts to return to Him and to be like Him.    

 

WE must give him our weaknesses – we give away all of our sins to know him.

 

There is joy to be found in the journey but feeling super joyful during every second of every trial is just not likely to happen.  Some hope that I’ve found is in knowing that God compensates us for our pain and sorrow and that in fact the deeper our pain and sorrow the higher our capacity to feel and know joy and happiness.  The happiest people I know, I mean these people have the largest smiles, the most contagious joy and zest for life, the loudest laughter, the most excitement about other peoples successes and triumphs, are the people who have been through the worst life has to offer.  I am blessed to know a couple of these people, maybe you know them too: Georgina Horton and Roy Mongone.  They’ve seen the very worst of humanity and from that depth of sorrow and suffering have come out on the other side with a perspective about life, a knowledge of God that sees them right through the stumbling blocks some of the rest of us see as mountains.

 

Prepare for the worst, put on your armor everyday it will help in the battle.  Don’t expect it to shield you from the fight or from inevitable wounds but prepare none the lest, gather and polish your weapons of war so that when the enemy strikes, as he always does, you’ll be prepared to meet him head on, to head him off at the gate or to regroup if he’s gotten past your first lines of defense and attacked you at the very heart.  Keep on trucking as the battle rages around you.  Take time to be still, to be alone, to reconnect with your spirit and with God.  Turn to God, if it is all you can do to look toward Jesus Christ, do it.  Keep on with the basics – scriptures, prayers, church, temple and expect the blessings to come – after all we have promises – comforting beautiful promises and we know that the Lord is bound to them as we fulfill our part of the covenants.  In fact we can expect him to fight our battles for us. 

 

Seek after the things that are virtuous and lovely and of good report and praise worthy – even if you read a blessing someone else has received and can only desire to believe that maybe it could be true – that maybe God could really heal your heart and restore your soul then take that desire to believe and let it work in you.  Write down the blessings that you want, learn all you can about how blessings are received and keep on keeping on.  Learn to love God, learn to trust Him, learn to believe that He really can redeem even you – He really can, think often of your testimony – write it down find opportunities to share it, think about the times the Lord has spoken to you, think about the things you know for sure and let the spirit work within in you to teach you more to bring you to greater light and knowledge.  It will.  Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ love you.  I know they do.  Because I know they love me and for a long long time I felt like I was unlovable by anyone but all through that time they loved me, I know they did and they were with me and they love you and they are with you – always – you just have to want to know them and look for them and they’ll be there always, especially when you need them most.