Several years ago, a friend posed some questions to me about my faith which at that time I was unable to answer. I studied and searched for answers. I prayed and pleaded with the Lord to help me find the right words to say - ultimately to no avail.
Then my friend said these words, which have been in the back of mind ever since the experience -
"You should not be afraid to ask questions about your religion, you should only fear not finding answers."
Those words were Satan's way in to shake my testimony. It took some time and painful experiences that could have been avoided to return back to the path.
Still, every now and then I think back on that and how perturbed I was to not receive answers to some of my questions. It is just one of the 'whys' in my life I had reconciled myself to not fully understanding.
Today I was reading a masterpiece by Elder Maxwell - "Willing to Submit" and read these beautiful words -
"Submissiveness also checks our tendency to demand advance explanations of the Lord as a perplexed yet trusting Nephi understood: "I know that God loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things.
So did a wondering but submissive Mary: "And Mary said, Behold the handmaid of the Lord; be it unto me according to thy word."
Just as the capacity to defer gratification is a sign of real maturity, likewise the willingness to wait for deferred explanation is a sign of real faith and of trust spread over time."
The gospel is simple really - once we put our trust in Christ, who sees endless possibilities that we do not. He knows the end from the beginning. I am so grateful to be in His loving hands.
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