Called to Become Great

Nightly scripture study. It’s been a goal of mine this year. It doesn’t happen 100% of the time, but I do make an honest effort. Some nights I struggle, like a lot. I’m tired, I keep reading the same verse over and over. I know there’s goodness to get out of it, but it’s hard. This was one of those nights. But I knew the Lord wanted to talk to me, and I wanted to hear from Him. So I stopped, said a little prayer asking for help focusing and hearing the spirit. Boy, was I glad I did.

Let me give you a brief synopsis:

The sons of the people of Ammon and the Lamanites were at odds. The Lamanites had taken their cities and the people of Ammon were trying to get them back. Here’s the thing though – they were stranded in the wilderness, the government was supposed to send help (they didn’t), they were out of food and provisions, and about to die of starvation. Meanwhile, the Lamanites were sitting pretty with plenty of food and provisions. When I read that, I thought, “Wow, if that ain’t life.” Helaman’s people were just rocking along trying to do the right thing, when another group of people came and took their things, leaving them struggling; meanwhile the bad guys enjoyed the good life.

The Lord hadn’t forsaken them though. The Lamanites kept coming for Helaman and his army, they were running low on strength, they were on the brink of starvation, but the Lord did provide, and food and provisions did finally come. They gave thanks to God and desperately prayed for strength to be delivered from their enemies, as well as recover their lands to better support their people’s needs and freedom. They felt peace and assurance that their prayers would be answered. That gave them just the courage they needed, and they decided to face the Lamanites once and for all to regain their lands and possessions. They took their small, undernourished army and faced what seemed an insurmountable task – defeating the large, strong Lamanite army. Ultimately, in the strength, wisdom, and power of the Lord, they were guided to know exactly what to do to accomplish their goals.

Why the suffering before the deliverance?

This got me thinking – the Lord gave them a mission. Helaman and his army were to defend their people’s liberty. When the Lord gives a mission, if you follow His plan with exactness and immediate obedience, He will ALWAYS deliver. But why did Helaman and his army have to suffer for want of food for so long? Why couldn’t they have just gone and defeated the Lamanites off the bat? Similar to my life, I often wonder why all the trials before the deliverance?

Learning to have faith

I think sometimes the Lord takes us to the very edge of what we think is possible so we learn to rely on Him. When we have nothing else, all we can do is fall back on Him. But He needs us to trust Him completely. He needs people who will be led by Him, every step of the way, because without reliance on Him, we are left to our own plans. But the problem with that is WE don’t even know what we are capable of. But He knows us perfectly. He knows what we can accomplish. And He knows how to help us accomplish those things. He knows how to help us BECOME who we are capable of becoming and achieving what we can and ARE MEANT TO achieve! WOW. When you surrender completely to His plan, you will experience heights you never thought possible. Just like the tiny army defeating the large, strong army, the Lord can help us overcome our seemingly insurmountable trials and challenges ahead.

The journey of becoming great is full of trials and challenges. Those are necessary to help weed out the parts of us that don’t align with who Heavenly Father knows we can become. They help strengthen our weaknesses. And obviously, when we are trying to do what Heavenly Father has planned for us, the adversary won’t like that very much and will do everything in his power to stop us.

Luckily, just as with all the greats throughout history, Heavenly Father will always deliver. He needs us to accomplish His plan; of course He will help us do it! Part of helping us do it, though, is helping us BECOME someone who can do it. And that journey is not all sunshine and roses. Thank goodness for a Savior who overcame all who will ALWAYS be there to help us overcome our own challenges and weaknesses so we can become who the Lord knows we can. Through His guidance, help, and power, we can reach our potential and become GREAT.