Let’s get real here. Life is hard. Temptation is knocking at every door, waiting for us to open up and let weakness loose. We all pass through trials and we all have felt alone. Truth is. You are never alone. You have weaknesses as do I. Here is where I let go of who I was to become who I am and who I want to be. I am done running from my past, and coming up with excuses for myself. This is the time where I will stand up and face my future with hope, faith and an abiding trust in my Savior Jesus Christ. You do not have to face the future alone, and heal from the past by yourself.
We have been given great gifts from a God who loves us. He has given us the beautiful gift of agency, or the ability to choose right from wrong.
Sometimes... we use
that agency in a way that would not be exactly pleasing to God. With agency
comes accountability. The ability to own up to what we have done. Or in some
cases not done. I once was a girl of many excuses. I had an excuse for anything
"I didn't do that because..." "I am this way because..."
"I was late because...." Yes our experiences make who we are. But we cannot
make up excuses and let our past bind us. "The past can hurt... You either
learn from it... or run from it" Don't give your past, or Satan that power
to bind you down and drag you into misery. The past can be the greatest
blessing or burden. Will it make you better or bitter? What will you have your
past be?
We all have that...."I wish I would have done this differently moment."
I am about to share one.. that is embarrassing. and a little silly, however it taught me a VERY significant lesson.
I cannot believe I am doing this. But here we go. As
missionaries we are not to date, flirt, or take part in ANYTHING romantic for
the time we are dedicated to this service. So one beautiful spring evening at
the beginning of my mission we were driving through this town, it's basically
all farm land. As we are approaching this light there is a backup of traffic
and as we all four looked around to see what was going on we saw that a trailer
full of manure had tipped, my first instinct was to giggle and make some jokes,
then as we all four missionaries must have seen the same thing at the same time
the car got dead silent.... As we saw a man in a cowboy hat who was
shirtless... scraping up this manure. As we all sat in silence and observed
this situation the sister driving didn't realize the car in front of her had
come to a stop... as she slammed on her breaks we luckily were able to stop
before anything bad came of it. This was a reminder to me that I MUST NEVER LET
MY GUARD DOWN. God gives us laws, and commandments to protect us. They are not
to be broken. In this moment my Father in Heaven taught me a very valuable
lesson that I will remember forever. God’s laws are to be followed as closely
as humanly possible. I have learned the valuable lesson to let go of the
natural man instincts and to follow Christ more closely. There is danger as we
allow our mind to wander. Not even just a little. There is safety for the soul
as we stay close to Christ.
"And now, my sons,(or daughters) remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall."
Heleman 5:12
Growing up we sang a song in primary:
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
The wise man built his house upon the rock,
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down, and the floods came up,
And the house on the rock stood still.
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
The foolish man built his house upon the sand,
And the rains came tumbling down.
The rains came down, and the floods came up,
And the house on the sand washed away.
Who will you be?
As we build our foundation on Christ and keep our eye single
to his commandments and follow the pathway home, our weaknesses will have no
more power over us. Satan will come at you; he will hound you and do his best
to beat you down. But because you are built on Jesus Christ HE CAN NOT BIND
YOU. Do not give Satan an excuse to creep into your life!! He is one of those
things that if you give him and inch he will take a mile.
"And if
men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness
that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble
themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith
in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them."
Weaknesses can become strength. Only through Jesus Christ. We are given trials, and weakness to over come to make us soft, and workable in Christs hands.
So how do we keep our eye single to God? How do we over come this?
READ YOUR SCRIPTURES. Daily. PRAY. Daily. Follow the commandments. GO TO CHURCH.
God has given us sooo many great tools to become better. DO NOT let them go to waste. I promise you if you read from the book of Mormon every single day you will become a new creature through Christ. Your past will no longer hold you back, Christ will set you free for the future.
"And it came to pass
that when I, Nephi, had spoken these words unto my brethren, they were angry
with me. And it came to pass that they did lay their hands upon me, for behold,
they were exceedingly wroth, and they did bind me with cords, for they sought
to take away my life, that they might leave me in the wilderness to be devoured
by wild beasts.
15 And
now it came to pass that the burdens which were laid upon Alma and his brethren
were made light; yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up
their burdens
with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of
the Lord. "
But it came to pass
that I prayed unto the Lord, saying: O Lord, according to my faith which is in
thee, wilt thou deliver me from the hands of my brethren; yea, even give me
strength that I may burst these bands with which I am bound."
Nephi teaches us something here. That when you are bound up by ANYTHING sin, grudges, hate, anger, temptations... rely on the Lord. Pray. Not for a change of situation, pray for the strength to over come it.
"And Alma and his people did not raise their voices to the
Lord their God, but did pour out their hearts to him; and he did know the thoughts
of their hearts.
13 And it came to pass that the voice of the Lord came to
them in their afflictions, saying: Lift up your heads and be of good comfort,
for I know of the covenant which ye have made unto me; and I will covenant with
my people and deliver them out of bondage.
14 And I will also ease the burdens which are put upon your
shoulders, that even you cannot feel them upon your backs, even while you are
in bondage; and this will I do that ye may stand as witnesses for me hereafter,
and that ye may know of a surety that I, the Lord God, do visit my people in
their afflictions.
Mosiah 24
My I wish I would have moments are now stepping stones into the future. As I overcome each obstacle and face it with Jesus Christ my fears are lost in faith. My regrets turn into rejoicing as he surrounds me in his love through the enabling power of the atonement.
When I have that pushing feeling to talk to a person, assist them with loading their groceries, or feel the need to help them shovel their walk I will do my best to not hesitate. I will do my best to follow the promptings. I will step up and do my best to be an instrument in the hands of the lord.
Let Jesus Christ come in. He is the way. There is no other way. He came to earth and gave his life. He suffered all that you will suffer, and have suffered. He made it possible for you to be cleansed from sin.
Take his hand and walk into the future with a new brightness of hope. Become a better version of you. No more looking back to what hurts, look forward to what heals, find what sets you free and fly.
Keep your eye single to God and Christ will walk with you daily. Build your foundation on Christ and you will not fall. Surround yourself in good company. You are strong enough to move past what ever is holding you down. You are powerful enough to break the binds. Christ gives you strength when you feel you don't have enough. Trust in him and let him into you life.
No more excuses as to why you didn't do something :) Face it and say "I didn't do it because
I simply was scared." "I was late today because I was slow to get
ready this morning, because... I was slow" "I didn't wake up to my
alarm because I went to bed too late last night. Now I woke up late and will
not be on time to work... I will be better tonight and tomorrow morning."
As I have learned to accept my short comings and ask for help from my Savior
Jesus Christ my past is losing power. It is no longer holding me ransom.
My I wish I would have moments are now stepping stones into the future. As I overcome each obstacle and face it with Jesus Christ my fears are lost in faith. My regrets turn into rejoicing as he surrounds me in his love through the enabling power of the atonement.
When I have that pushing feeling to talk to a person, assist them with loading their groceries, or feel the need to help them shovel their walk I will do my best to not hesitate. I will do my best to follow the promptings. I will step up and do my best to be an instrument in the hands of the lord.
Let Jesus Christ come in. He is the way. There is no other way. He came to earth and gave his life. He suffered all that you will suffer, and have suffered. He made it possible for you to be cleansed from sin.
Take his hand and walk into the future with a new brightness of hope. Become a better version of you. No more looking back to what hurts, look forward to what heals, find what sets you free and fly.
Keep your eye single to God and Christ will walk with you daily. Build your foundation on Christ and you will not fall. Surround yourself in good company. You are strong enough to move past what ever is holding you down. You are powerful enough to break the binds. Christ gives you strength when you feel you don't have enough. Trust in him and let him into you life.
No comments:
Post a Comment