"You who may be momentarily disheartened, remember, life is not meant to be easy. Trials must be borne and grief endured along the way. As you remember that 'with God all things are possible,' know that He is your Father. You are a son or daughter created in His image, entitled through your worthiness to receive revelation to help with your righteous endeavors. You may take upon you the holy name of the Lord. . . It matters not that giants of tribulation torment you. Your prayerful access to help is just as real as when David battled his Goliath." (Russell M. Nelson, Perfection Pending, Deseret Book, 1998, p. 112).
Friday, May 29, 2009
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4 comments:
So how do you know if it's a trial of your faith from God or Satan trying to bring you down?
That's an excellent and deep question. I think that Satan is always trying to bring us down, especially during life's trials that can leave us feeling most vulnerable. It's sort of a frightening thought. That's why we must devote each day to becoming closer to the Savior for he is the ONLY one who can calm the storms that we can feel in life: temptations, discouragement, grief, pain from sin, heartache, etc. All experiences that we will have here on Earth will require us to ask ourselves which team we play for. I read a quote the other day that I thought was AWESOME. I don't remember who said it, but she said, "I want to live each day of my life so that when my feet hit the floor each morning, Satan says, 'Oh no...she's up again." Thanks for the question. That's just my opinion. When I'm wondering about the purpose of trials I like to read about Job. Now there's an example of forbearance...
Hey...good question and good comment. Kristen, I think that the person who gave that quote you mentioned was Sheri Dew, and I love it!
Nicole, I just had a few thoughts on your question...not that I'm an expert on this question or anything, but these are just some things I've been thinking about.
God has said that there must be opposition in all things, which is why Satan has been allowed to tempt and try the children of God. Without opposition, agency would be destroyed, and Heavenly Father respects agency immensely. I don't think that God gives us trials of our faith in the sense that he tempts us or causes things to happen to us to try our faith. But, what I do think is that he allows Satan to perform his natural function of tempting and trying us which causes our weaknesses to come out and our faith to be tried. Thus, I don't think God CAUSES the trials himself, but rather allows them to occur. Yet, the great thing is that despite the fact that there must be opposition and that we must experience suffering in this life, God is ever present and ever willing to lift us, to guide us, to lead us, to strengthen us that we might deal with our trials. Occasionally, he removes the trial, but in my limited experience, more often than not, he lets us struggle with it for a while while he lifts, strengthens, and guides us to find a solution. These are just my thoughts, but what do you guys think?
I totally agree with you. I am learning that sometimes I shouldn't pray for the burden to be lifted, but that mide shoulders will be able to carry the load. Thanks again. . . what a great discussion!
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