Do: The Lord Knows What He's Doing

Do: The Lord Knows What He's Doing

Genesis 31:16 says "...now then, whatsoever God hath said unto thee, do." How many of us could truly say that we would be able to do whatsover the Lord asked us to do with sufficient faith and diligence? In this essay I hope to give us all a little more understanding into what kinds of tasks the Lord asks us to accomplish and how we can find the strength to do the things he asks us to do. In my own life I have had to put aside my own fears and trust that the thing the Lord asked me to do was the best for me, even though I would see the results later, rather than sooner. However, every time I look back, I understand the Lords reasoning and appreciate the growth that I experienced. The Lord has different things for all of us to do, and we must know how to accomplish them and remember to learn what we needed to learn.

What kinds of tasks has the Lord for us to accomplish? Of course, every one has very personalized plan and deal with different struggles, but there are a few universal things we must all learn and go through, in some way or another. We all must deal with heartbreak, whether by the death of a loved one or the end of a long relationship. When our hearts our broken, we learn to love the Lord more than others, because He will never break our hearts. In James 1:3 it says "...the trying of your faith worketh patience." All of us also need to learn to deal with difficult people and stressful situations. When we learn this patience and clear thinking we become more like Christ and closer to him. Neal A. Maxwell said "Patience is tied very closly to faith in our Heavenly Father", thus, when we learn patience, our faith will also grow.

Now how do we deal with these hard things the Lord has asked us to do while keeping our faith and strength and keeping a sunny countenance? This is where the standard primary answers come in. Pray, go to church, read the scriptures. Joel 2:32 says "...whosoever shall call on the Lord...shall be delivered." This may not come right away, but I have a testimony that it WILL come, and the time this deliverance cometh, is the best time. Doctrine and Covenants 88:118 says "And as all have not faith, seek ye diligently and teach one another words of wisdom; yea, seek ye out of the best books words of wisdom; seek learning, even by study and also by faith."

Once we have overcome our fear and done what the Lord asked us to do, how can we make sure that we learned what God wanted us to learn? We need to ponder and pray, look back and see how our lives have changed for good. Sometimes this is not easy to see at first, but if we are steadfast we will see what He wants us to see. Also, we must not underestimate the importance of bearing our testimonies. The Holy Ghost will whisper to us as we speak and show us things we never saw before.

We are all asked by the Lord to accomplish hard things. We must remember that we are not the only person on the earth who has been asked to do something hard, but also we must remember that our tasks are fitted for US specifically. To find the strength we need to do what the Lord has commanded, we must remember to pray, read the scriptures, and go to church. After we have done the task that God put before us, we need to make sure our efforts weren't in vain and meditate, ponder, and pray to ask what we should have learned. We are ALL capable of the type of faith Abraham of old had to do the things which God asks us to do, and the potential to grow closer to Him and more like the gods and goddesses we have the potential to be.