Hard Times?

This is so true, we will have hard days.  I know that even though things seem so tough and difficult to face, the Lord will not leave us comfortless.  He will help us!  I love the the scriptures they teach us so much about this. 

1 Nephi 21: 14-16 read, "But, behold, Zion hath said: The Lord hath forsaken me, and my Lord hath forgotten me—but he will show that he hath not.  For can a woman forget her sucking child, that she should not have compassion on the son of her womb? Yea, they may forget, yet will I not forget thee, O house of Israel.  Behold, I have graven thee upon the palms of my hands; thy walls are continually before me."

I like how the Lord teaches this in this way.  How hard is it for a mother to forget her nursing child?  It is unlikely.  There is a small chance though, so the Lord teaches us that even though they may forget, He will not.  He will not forget us!  He will not, because He died so that we might live.  He will not, because we are graven upon the palms of His hands.  He will not, because He knows and loves us perfectly.  He will not, because He is our Savior.  

I also like the scripture in 3 Nephi 22: 10, "For the mountains shall depart and the hills be removed, but my kindness shall not depart from thee, neither shall the covenant of my peace be removed, saith the Lord that hath mercy on thee."

The whole world may seem to be falling around us, but the Lord is somebody we can always anchor onto.  He loves us, we can always turn to Him.

Even though we may believe in God and be trying our best to follow Him, doesn't mean that everything will be perfect.  We will still have trials.  We have trials so that we can learn, grow, and become something better.  We must trust the Lord, because He can see the big picture.  He will help us as we turn to Him.  I like what Elder D. Todd Christofferson of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles said in his talk, “As Many as I Love, I Rebuke and Chasten.”  He said,  

"God uses another form of chastening or correction to guide us to a future we do not or cannot now envision but which He knows is the better way for us. President Hugh B. Brown, formerly a member of the Twelve and a counselor in the First Presidency, provided a personal experience. He told of purchasing a rundown farm in Canada many years ago. As he went about cleaning up and repairing his property, he came across a currant bush that had grown over six feet (1.8 m) high and was yielding no berries, so he pruned it back drastically, leaving only small stumps. Then he saw a drop like a tear on the top of each of these little stumps, as if the currant bush were crying, and thought he heard it say:

“How could you do this to me? I was making such wonderful growth. … And now you have cut me down. Every plant in the garden will look down on me. … How could you do this to me? I thought you were the gardener here.”

President Brown replied, “Look, little currant bush, I am the gardener here, and I know what I want you to be. I didn’t intend you to be a fruit tree or a shade tree. I want you to be a currant bush, and someday, little currant bush, when you are laden with fruit, you are going to say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for loving me enough to cut me down.’”

Years later, President Brown was a field officer in the Canadian Army serving in England. When a superior officer became a battle casualty, President Brown was in line to be promoted to general, and he was summoned to London. But even though he was fully qualified for the promotion, it was denied him because he was a Mormon. The commanding general said in essence, “You deserve the appointment, but I cannot give it to you.” What President Brown had spent 10 years hoping, praying, and preparing for slipped through his fingers in that moment because of blatant discrimination. Continuing his story, President Brown remembered:

“I got on the train and started back … with a broken heart, with bitterness in my soul. … When I got to my tent, … I threw my cap on the cot. I clenched my fists, and I shook them at heaven. I said, ‘How could you do this to me, God? I have done everything I could do to measure up. There is nothing that I could have done—that I should have done—that I haven’t done. How could you do this to me?’ I was as bitter as gall.

“And then I heard a voice, and I recognized the tone of this voice. It was my own voice, and the voice said, ‘I am the gardener here. I know what I want you to do.’ The bitterness went out of my soul, and I fell on my knees by the cot to ask forgiveness for my ungratefulness. …

“… And now, almost 50 years later, I look up to [God] and say, ‘Thank you, Mr. Gardener, for cutting me down, for loving me enough to hurt me.’”

God knew what Hugh B. Brown was to become and what was needed for that to happen, and He redirected his course to prepare him for the holy apostleship.

If we sincerely desire and strive to measure up to the high expectations of our Heavenly Father, He will ensure that we receive all the help we need, whether it be comforting, strengthening, or chastening."

We will have hard days, Fridays; but the Lord can and will help us.  Sunday will come!  I know that we will never be given more than we can handle.  I know that the Lord will not leave us comfortless.  I know He lives and loves us dearly.