Look
for why God allows the challenges of life.
7 And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit,
or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if
thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if
fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the
elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell
shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these
things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good.
8 The Son of Man hath descended below them
all. Art thou greater than he?
Doctrine & Covenants
122:7-8
Think
back on the greatest times of learning and growing for you as an individual. Were they connected to a time of trial and
difficulty in your life? Challenges, even very painful ones, have a way of
helping us to grow. In these verses there seems to be two reasons for the trials of
life. In verse 7 it talks about how they give us experience and are for our
good. If we will love and trust God
through our trials, they will be for our good and learning (see Romans 8:28).
On the other hand, if we resent God and are angry, it does us no good. There is a saying that “the difficulties of
life are intended to make us better, not bitter” -Author unknown.
The
second reason for the trials of life are in verse 8. Through all that Joseph
suffered, he came to know the Lord in a greater way. In trials we come to have “fellowship
of his sufferings” (Philippians 3:10).
Joseph learned a lot about God in the Grove at fourteen years old, but I
think Joseph came to know the Savior even more in his sufferings in Liberty
Jail.
Today’s Takeaway:
Are you in a challenging time of your life right now? Are you doing all you can
to stay close to the Lord and trust His goodness through the difficulties? If
so, you will grow tremendously as an individual; so much so that you will one day feel it was all worth it. You will also come to know the Savior in
a greater way than ever before.
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