One thing that came up is the Lord wants to bless us, but, can not simply serve us up everything on a silver platter. There is one little element that plays in to the ability for the Lord to bless us - Agency. Also as we exercise our agency (our ability to choose for ourselves) we have the consequences of our actions and the need for us to make decisions. Thus if the Lord simply provided all that we asked for in some respects he would be negating agency and our ability to choose for ourselves.
This is were the second element comes in. The element of faith. As we do all we can, live the commandments the best we can, and serve in the church etc. the Lord will in the end bless us and fill in the gap. He'll help us to bridge that which is missing as we make our full effort.
On the other hand, Satan the father of all lies will do all he can to discourage us and make us feel less then we should. There will at time need to be some real Godly sorrow for mistakes and efforts on our part to repair the damage we have done. Sometimes this may involve even repairing our own self worth or coming to a realization we are spirit children of Heavenly Father and we really does loves us and want us to return to live with him again someday. "Thus, opposition and the alternatives that come with it are essential characteristics of our existence, for if there were no opposition and no alternatives from which to choose, there would be no agency, and the “wisdom of God and his eternal purposes,” as well as His “power,” “mercy,” and “justice,” would be destroyed (2 Nephi 2:12)."
Why Agency? by Charles Swift Ensign February 2012.
So in the end I came to the realization that we need to take that leap of faith. To have confidence in ourselves and our abilities. To take the step into the unknown (which can be very scary) and push head not having a perfect knowledge (i.e Faith) of how it will work out.
It has been brought to my memory the accounts of the life of Christian Moosman one of my ancestors on my mother's side of the family. He was born in Switzerland in the mid 1800's and eventually was baptized in the LDS church. This did not go over very well with some relatives and former colleagues. So eventually he went to Italy to join some saints there and immigrated to Zion. In and around this time he met his wife among the Italian saints and there were married shortly there after.
Now there reason he come to mind is not so much his hardships and struggles but, more his faith in his actions. We look to our noble ancestors of this time frame (1800's) and see so much faith as many of them traveled long distances to join with the saints in Zion (Utah). And we well know that life for these people was not easy even after finally arriving in the Salt Lake Valley and surrounding communities. In reality it as darn right hard. And then on top of that many were called on "Missions" to colonize or populate far flung parts of the Utah territory or surrounding areas. Thus was the life of Christian Moosman and his family.
He had to exercise huge amounts of faith as he resettled more then one to some rather inhospitable locations. In many instances these were simply very big leaps of Faith. Was that priesthood leader that called them on their mission really inspired? Could they really make a living in the Utah desert? These were their leaps of faith such as was life in those days.
In our modern age we are less likely to travel half way around the world to start a new life. But do we still have to take those leaps of faith? How about in our callings we receive at church? How many times have you been extended a calling and thought after accepting it that you have no clue what you will do or how you will fulfill your obligations. But, in the end things seem to come together as they should albeit, not always perfectly, but in a manner that is pleasing and fulfilling for those involved.
I have seen this in my calling as a Cub Master. When I began I had no clue what I was doing, even though I'm am and Eagle Scout and recipient of the Arrow of Light award. My first pack meeting was a mess and it did not help we had a group of children interrupt things in the middle. Now I'm a bit more wiser, have a few years experience under my belt and things run a lot smoother. Curve balls are still sent our way and we do have to make some last minute changes and the like. But, I also see those moments of inspiration. Promptings regarding things I should be doing, people to contact and the activities to suggest. They have not all worked out as I expected them to. Nor should they... we are always adapting things to our needs. But, I've had to take small leaps of faith. Leaps like when I decided for the first time to participate in Scout-o-Rama.
Leaps in planning various other activities (some of which turned into miniature disastures).
Now I've learned I need to take other leaps of faith in other aspects of my life. Like polishing skills for a job change, reaching out to fellow saints for help, extending myself in other ways and the like. I have to take that leap of faith that things can be better and that I need to get the ball rolling. That there are blessing awaiting me that I could never dream of having, like fruit ripe on the tree waiting to be picked. I also have to have that faith to be able to keep Satan from messing around with God's eternal plan for me to much. To make sure that I can keep him at bay so that in the end I do not turn “miserable like unto himself” (2 Ne. 2:27) that he wants me to.
"So we ask ourselves, “Who are we going to believe in our search for happiness and well-being?” Will it be Satan, the author of all lies and deceit, whose single objective is to destroy us? Or are we going to believe a loving Heavenly Father, who is the source of all truth and happiness, whose sole objective is rewarding us with His eternal love and joy?
We may come from humble circumstances, have limited education, and may even have what we consider unimpressive worldly accomplishments. And because of Satan’s deceit, we may at times feel unimportant, insignificant, or incapable. But let us never forget—we are the ones chosen .... of God, we are His called, ...., and that makes us somebody."
Satan's Bag of Snipes - Bishop Richard C. Edgley
So will you join me in making that leap of faith?
Buiadh - NO - Bas
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