I can’t wait to take you on a journey of today’s scripture study! My brain feels a bit scattered, and I may find it super difficult to express my train of thought the way that the Spirit connects dots in my head, but we are gonna try it!
Starting in Alma 32 from the Book of Mormon – a chapter that talks all about faith. People were cast out and banned from praying in the synagogues. Their life was tough because they lived in poverty and really struggled to be respected by others. These tough times brought them to ask the prophet what they should do. Based on the events, I am sure these people felt isolated from God, isolated from others in their city. It even says they were “poor in heart”. In response, the prophet poses the questions,
10 Behold I say unto you, do ye suppose that ye acannot worship God save it be in your synagogues only?
11 And moreover, I would ask, do ye suppose that ye must not worship God only aonce in a week?
It then explains how all these crummy things – being cast out of the synagogues, being despised by the people around them, being poor in heart, and living in poverty had humbled them!
The next part is the real kicker! He says,
13 And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye;…
Book of Mormon, Alma 32:13
Last week in a post about a cure I found for pain, I questioned if the pain in our lives was something God gives with the motive of bringing us unto Him. I mentioned how that seemed a bit manipulative. However, as I studied this chapter, I felt the impact of the phrase,
“…blessed are ye”
This cleared up my confusion about pain and God’s role in it. I don’t believe God to be manipulative. I also don’t believe God gives us pain. Instead, pain is a part of living here. Most importantly, I felt when struggles and pains occur in life he is there to bless us. He is there to bring us out of our hard times. How does he do that?
Back to Alma 32,
13 And now, because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye; for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh arepentance; and now surely, whosoever repenteth shall find mercy; and he that findeth mercy and bendureth to the end the same shall be saved.
14 And now, as I said unto you, that because ye were compelled to be ahumble ye were blessed, do ye not suppose that they are more blessed who truly humble themselves because of the word?
So if I am humbled by God either way, then why would I humble myself. Notice that the scripture says, “for a man sometimes, if he is compelled to be humble, seeketh repentance”. I don’t really want to leave my salvation to chance like that!
How can I bring myself to a truly humble state?
As I reflected on this Q, this story came to mind.
I have a cousin named Tyler. He is one of the best people you’ll ever meet. He gives the best hugs and sees people in their best light! When I was little, Tyler came home from serving his mission. He told a story to us about how brushing his teeth taught him something about our spiritual devotion. He had thought, what if I only brush my teeth once a week, or once a year. That’d be gross and it wouldn’t give my teeth the maintenance they need. Our spiritual selves are a lot like our teeth. They need to be cared for every day. Our relationship with God can’t just be a once a week or once a year experience. It’s got to be more consistent!
I love that I have a Father in Heaven who wants me to talk to Him regularly!
It was as if God Himself were inviting me to love Him more, not for His benefit but for mine!
The scriptures went on to confirm all these impressions!
“…because ye are compelled to be humble blessed are ye…
15 Yea, he that truly humbleth himself, and repenteth of his sins, and endureth to the end, the same shall be blessed—yea, much more blessed than they who are compelled to be humble because of their exceeding poverty.
16 Therefore, blessed are they who ahumble themselves without being bcompelled to be humble; or rather, in other words, blessed is he that believeth in the word of God […] yea, without being brought to know the word, or even compelled to know, before they will believe.”
I think I’m beginning to understand what a true blessing it is to have hardship, pain, and struggle a part of life. Pain can provide experiences that humble me in addition to the times I humble myself. Hard times could really be a blessing in disguise.
Have you heard this song?? Blessings by Laura Story? Listening to it brought tears, so if you’re feeling all this definitely go give it a listen! And if you’re not feeling all this, she says it better 🙂
Hope you have a great day & enjoy touching base with Heaven this week!
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