For both new and old members of the church, I thought this would be a good topic to start on in both explaining and reminding about faith. For people who are not of the LDS faith, I hope this serves as an encouragement to seek further.
I believe we all know what faith is, or have our various intepretations of it, so I'll get straight into it.
There will be times when we will feel troubled and depressed, fallen and weak. In these times, God will help us and give us the motivation and inspiration to overcome these obstacles. He’ll be there to catch us and lift us back up when we fall.
1 Nephi 7:12
The Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him.
There are a couple of key things in that statement:
The Lord is able to do all things according to his will, for the children of men, if it so be that they exercise faith in him.
Faith, which is what I’ll be addressing, and briefly; His will.
Everything that happens is in accordance to God’s will and He will show his love in many ways to help us grow in the right direction.
Sometimes He will let us stumble over obstacles for good reasons and there are many reasons why God will allow these things to happen and they could be anything.
But He will help us through these experiences and what we receive in the end are the blessings of greater knowledge.
That’s why faith plays a vital role, because if we begin to lose our faith and trust for the Lord, He cannot help us.
Ether 12:12
For if there be no faith among the children of men God can do no miracle among them.
Now, the question is, how do we gain this faith in God?
I had just mentioned it, and it is that we need to have trust in God. It’s not about just having faith, but also having trust.
Let me explain; to have trust in someone, you need to have faith in what they say and do, but to have faith in those actions, you need to be able to trust them. And if you don’t trust them, it’s just a belief in them.
Now, belief is when you believe something or someone through what you can only comprehend. When something else comes along, you either continue with what you currently believe, or believe the other. So when we only believe in God, if something was to happen and make us think twice, we may believe there is no God, or if there is, He doesn’t care about us, or He's somebody else, and so forth.
But if we put our trust, along side with our belief, in God, belief becomes faith, and is the rock which trust rests on, and vice versa. When something happens, we know there is a reason behind it and do not lose faith, but trust the Lord’s work and we are able to leap over the hurdle. Faith and trust go together.
Alma 61:13
We should put our trust in him, and he will deliver us.
But how do we gain trust?
We can gain trust in various ways; through His blessings, we know He’s true. Through His teachings, we know He’s righteous. Through His love, we know He’s caring. Through His mercy, we know He’s just. But it really comes down to you and what you believe is right. If these are things that you do not value, then whom do you trust?
I was walking home from the train station one night and a man came up to me asking for a dollar and a bit. He looked like the typical Aussie bloke who drinks and smokes, but I don’t judge. I’ll stereotype for the fun of it, but never hold that judgement.
He was excited, talking about how he was so sure of the winning lottery numbers for the night. It didn’t matter whether he knew the numbers or not, he was just buying a lottery ticket; a bit of fun. I only had a $5 note so I gave it to him. He’s excited about how I’ll see him riding a Harley Davison tomorrow around the station celebrating and how he’d even offer me a ride if we saw each other as thanks. As I walked up the stairs from the station and down the street, I see him inside the pub across the street from having some beers.
It wasn’t that he had winning numbers which I cared for, but that I believed he was buying a ticket, just like anyone else, and just fell short of some cash; fair enough. I was proven wrong. But this is what we need to be like towards the Lord.
We trust Him for the intentions He has and the occurrences that occur. God loves us and wants us to be in good care, in good hands.
I know it is important in having faith and trust in the Lord because if we only believe in him, then we only receive half the fruit. The world is rapidly changing and our views will always change one way or another. If we trust these changing positions, then we will be misled. There is an absolute for everything and I did my part by placing my trust in the Lord, and he has provided me with more knowledge since getting baptised and receiving the Holy Ghost.
Alma 18:35
And a portion of that Spirit dwelleth in me, which giveth me knowledge, and also power according to my faith and desires which are in God.
And through the Holy Spirit, I am also able to overcome various ditches, whether climbing out, or being pulled out, not to mourn over them, but to take that lessen which God has given me and strengthen from it.
I know that if we put our trust in God, we will eventually be able to jump over that bar above us and begin making leaps and bounds in our lives.
And I say these things in the name of Jesus Christ, Amen.
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