“The Lord in His wisdom does not shield anyone from grief or sadness.”
I was reading a talk from Joseph B. Wirthlin this week, getting ready for another Fireside and this stood out. Notice the word WISDOM. The Lord is wise, therefore he does not shield us from sorrow. Every single one of us will have those, “terrible, horrible, no good, very bad days”. Some of us will fail an important test. One of you may lose your job. We may get in a car accident. We will lose loved ones, that is inevitable. Over the past year I lost some very good friends to illness or tragic accidents. We will, every single person who has ever lived, lives, or will live, have days where nothing goes according to plan.
I am blessed to be able to know that our life here on Earth is just a tiny stepping stone to a much better place, a place with a fantastic view. This knowledge is the strength I need to get past the bad days and welcome in the “tomorrows” with a smile and open arms. In order to progress, we must learn and grow and work. That is what God wants for us, that is why He does not keep us from feeling the negative emotions, preventing bad things from happening, or simply giving us all of our wants we ask for. God is working, He is working so we may understand what He wants for us. When God appeared to Moses, He told Moses, “Behold this is my work and my glory-to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” This scriptures is one of my favorites because it helps us understand why we are here, who God is, and what He wants from us. What does that mean?
“Behold this is my WORK and my GLORY..” My friends Merriam-Webster defines work as, “an activity in which one exerts strength or faculties to do or perform something.” God is working. He is exerting his strength and faculties to achieve a goal. This work is also His glory, Merriam defines glory as, “a height of prosperity or achievement”. When we read the beginning of this scripture, using the definitions, we can see that for God, He is “exerting strength” so he may arrive at a “height of prosperity (and) achievement.”
What does that all mean? Well, those terrible, horrible days are here to help us become better, wonderful people. It’s up to us to decide how we handle the trials that are thrown at us and to use these to become better than we were yesterday. Use everyday to become better than we were the day before.
God is working so we may life forever with Him after our life here on Earth. He is working so we can be with our families after we die. He is working because He loves every single one of us. He gave me my trials because He wants me to be a better person. He gave me my trials because He loves me.
XXo,
Mo
