Trust Leads to Constant Peace

Doctrine and Covenants 11:23-24

Behold thou art Hyrum, my son; seek the kingdom of God, and all things shall be added according to that which is just.

Build upon my rock, which is my gospel;

We both know that I tend to over-complicate things and/or over-analyze things.  Although usually I do that with good motives or intentions, it just creates added stress in my life.  If I remembered the point of this scripture, I think I would have a lot more peace in my difficult moments.  

Basically Christ is saying that all I have to do is seek the kingdom of God, which He expands upon as building upon His rock (His gospel).  The answer is so simple, like always.  If I focus on seeking the kingdom of God, I can trust that all my needs will be taken care of in the way that is just and good for me.  What a simple truth but giant promise!  

Can you imagine how much more simple our lives would be if we just remembered this?  Like today, I came home from school and my body started to freak out.  My hands were shaking.  I don't know if this is because I haven't been taking good care of myself or what, but I honestly think it is the stress of these last two days.  I think my body is in a state of constant adrenaline rush or something.  This week I haven't slept, because my mind won't shut off.  Basically, I'm out of whack.  What about if instead of thinking of my endless to do list, I thought, "Well, God has promised me that He'll give me everything I need if I seek His kingdom.  I'm doing my daily scripture study.  I'm praying.  I'm going to church.  I'm trying to do His will every day.  Yes, I don't do it perfectly by any means, but I am trying.  So that means that all my needs will be taken care of.  School stuff will work out.  Work stuff.  Lack of time and too much homework.  Fear.  Confusing things.  Everything will work out according to God's justice which is sure and good and gets me to where I need to be.  I don't have to worry!"  Wow, what a relief that would be!  I think my body wouldn't be shaking right now, and I think that I could sleep better at night.  I would be better able to do my homework because instead of writing under pressure, I'd be writing under peace and CONFIDENCE.   Confidence is the key to everything.  

This week, I'm going to use all the stress as an opportunity to better train my brain to maintain its peace, even under pressured circumstances.  I'm going to keep reminding myself that God is there and that He will provide for everything I need, because I am doing my part.  This seems to be my theme, because as I wrote about yesterday, I've been getting little stress tests.  I'm grateful because I think they are helping me to train my brain to maintain peace in whatever circumstances.  So on I go, I have to write 10 pages today for two papers due tomorrow, and I also have to work.  But I know that God will help me through it.  And He'll give me the strength I need so I don't burn out from all this stuff before finals week even gets here:)  God is so good!

I love you, and I hope all is going well for you,

Rachel 

AAAAH! Stress!!

Today I had one of the most stressful experiences that I've had in a long time.  Basically, today I had a ten page paper due and a presentation.  But I hadn't been able to work on the paper very much this week because of all the other homework assignments I was doing plus work.  In between classes today, I worked on it, and I had about an hour to do a whole boatload of work.  Well, I work diligently, and I find myself astonished at how much I'm getting done and how quickly it seems to be coming.  I definitely could feel God helping me, an answer to my million prayers of this week with me asking if He can help me make it through the craziness and not get too stressed.  At 12:45, I save my paper and exit out of it, ready to attach it to my email and send it in to my professor (it was due at 12:59).  After clicking the attachment button, nothing pops up.  I can't find my paper anywhere.  It has disappeared from the computer all together!  I try not to panic, as I walk to the help desk.  "Oh hey, so my paper disappeared.  Could you help me find it?"  A very nice guy comes to battle out the stress with me.  We were both looking at the time, and frantically trying to find where on earth my paper had gone.  I prayed in my heart over and over.  And just tried to breathe deeply, so I wouldn't start crying or fainting or something.  Finally, an idea popped in my head.  Let's look at files by date.  After a couple of minutes of searching, we found my paper which had been saved in the weirdest place on the computer.  Even typing in the name in the search box hadn't worked, and after my prayer, all of a sudden it turns up.  I resaved the paper as "Miracle" on the computer, sent it to my professor a minute early, and ran to class.

I just want to thank God for helping me.  I also want to thank Him for testing me, because I do feel that it was a test.  In one of my most stressful moments, something went on.  But it strengthened my ability to trust in God.  In my moment of stress, I did freak out a little bit.  Yet I took that anxiety and stress to God.  I told Him, "Hey God, I've been working hard.  I've been trying to do what You have asked.  And I am currently stressed out of my mind, just trying to survive.  I know You can do miracles and can help me with this crazy thing that happened.  Will you?"  I prayed knowing that whatever happened would be right and that even if it was lost, God would help me get compassion from my professor or something and just rewrite it.  Our moments of trial really stretch us and help us get closer to God.  The trust we build is such a peaceful feeling.  I believe that a peaceful interior is built upon trust in God.  There is no other way to get lasting peace.  I'm working on overcoming some fears that keep trying to get me.  And I'm working on growing in faith and trust.  I'm trying to learn how to be calm DURING the storm.  I'm trying to remember that Christ is in my boat DURING the storm while learning how to overcome my fears.  I know that God loves me and will give me exactly what I need to do it.  He tried my faith in a lot of little ways today, but I feel good about what happened because even though I didn't handle it perfectly, I chose to do the right thing.

I just wanted to send you this story to give some comfort during these next two crazy weeks.  And also leave you with this lovely scripture that was a good reminder to me:

"Do not run faster or labor more than you have strength and means provided to enable you to translate; but be diligent unto the end.
 Pray always, that you may come off conqueror; yea, that you may conquer Satan, and that you may escape the hands of the servants of Satan that do uphold his work." (D&C 10:4-5)

We don't need to do things quickly or just get them done.  God wants us to have a balance and be diligent.  I feel that this is very applicable to finals week.  I'm trying to not let my perfectionist side overtake me as I write a billion pages and study for my final exams...I can only do what I can do.  And I can trust that God will help me.  If I pray to Him constantly, I'll come off conqueror!  I have felt Satan trying to play off of my fears in a lot of different ways these past couple of months.  But I'm learning how to overcome his new tactics, and I just need to remember that if I'm being obedient and especially if I'm praying, I can't fail.  I may mess up.  But I won't fail.

I love you Emily!!

Rachel    

Even in our punk moments, God loves and reassures us.

We are such punks, but God loves us anyways.  He knows where we each are individually.  And He knows how to reassure us in our moments of doubt or lack of confidence. This really hit me today when I was reading Doctrine and Covenants sections seven and eight.  In the first, John the Beloved had asked God to remain on earth until Christ comes so that he can bring more people to Christ.  Peter had asked to "speedily come" to God in His kingdom.  I don't know if I understand exactly what was happening, but it seems to me that Peter was kind of comparing himself to John, and saying something like, "How come he gets to stay?  Should I have said that?  Maybe my desire wasn't good..."  But Christ, knowing his heart and lovingly reassuring him says, "I say unto thee, Peter, this was a good desire.  But John wants to do work more here on Earth. He has undertaken a greater work so I will help him do it.  And you can elp him too.  You three will have this power and the keys of this ministry until I come."  I can hear the reassurance in Christ's voice.  Isn't that so typical of us?  We start comparing ourselves.  And Peter wasn't doing it in an envious way.  He seems to me to start to doubt his own motives and what he had chosen because of the good thing that John had chosen to do.

Christ responds, "Verily I say unto you, ye shall both have according to your desires, for ye both joy in that which ye have desired."  Isn't that beautiful?  They joyed in different things, but both of those choices are based in goodness.  And one choice wasn't better than the other.  They were just different. We each have our own path and our own choices to make.  If we folw the revelation we have received from God, we don't have to wonder, "Why does so-and-so have this?  Aren't I doing the right thing?"  or "So-and-so made this choice and it seems to be working out for them...maybe I should have made that choice too instead of the one I chose."  It is so easy to do this!  It seems harmless too because it isn't exactly envy.  However, this type of thinking creates a Lot's wife situation where we look backwards on what we have already received from God.  I'm sure that Peter felt good about his decision.  I'm sure he felt like God approved and all warm and fuzzy in his heart.  Only when he saw John's decision and the good it could do did he start looking back on what he had chosen.

In D&C 8, Oliver is also in a moment of doubt where he wants so badly to translate, but he hesitates.  Christ helps him through it: "Look, Oliver, I promise you that you can receive whatever knowledge you need as long as your ask in faith and with a sincere heart.  I will speak to your mind and heart through my spirit.  This is YOUR gift.  Trust in it. Remember these words.  Remember that this is YOUR gift.  Only God can give you this. Don't doubt it.  You will have the gift and you will do a great work with it.  It can't fail because it is the work of God.  Remember that without faith, you can't do anything.  So make sure you are asking in faith, and only ask what you should.  According to your faith, it will be done."

Again, I can feel the loving reassurance from Christ to Oliver here.  Oliver is looking back on revelation he has already received.  But Christ tells him twice, "Buddy, this is your gift.  God has given it to you. You can trust in it."  Remember these promises.
 
Sometimes we look at these stories and think about how silly these guys are.  Then we have that moment where we realize...oh, I do that all the time.  How many times do we question what we have received?  How many times do we question our own ability to complete a task that God has given us?  How many times do we wonder if we are doing the right thing after we already know that we are?  How many times do we compare ourselves to other people worried that maybe we aren't doing what God wants us to do just because they have chosen something different?

Luckily God loves us.  And He will send us the reassurance we need to continue forward.  God is so good and loving.  We can trust in that.  I know that sometimes I can be such a pest.  This week I kind of got a slap in the face when I realized how selfish, how inwardly focused, and how impatient I have been sometimes.  But God has been there in my moments of doubt, reassuring me.  Reminding me that I only have to take it day by day.  That I just need to keep going, keep obeying, keep listening for His voice.  And I can trust that it will come.  What a great Father we have.

I love you,

Rachel    

A Matter of Trust

Sorry it's been a while- but holy moly! I had a wonderful study today!! I decided that throughout this wonderful month of December, I'm going to read the story of Christ's life- not just his birth, but what he accomplished and who He became here in mortality.

I started off with the first chapter of Matthew. We are told that Joseph, a fine young man,  is engaged to none other than the fantasmagorical Mary. But wait. Joseph finds out she's preggers. Well shoot. Honestly that would come as quite a shock to anyone. But what really impressed me as I read this account is the trust that they were both able to develop. Joseph's ability to trust Mary is incredible. She told him that she was pregnant and it had been through God, and instead of immediately rejecting her and allowing her to suffer the intense penalty at that time, he tried to do all he could to protect her. Joseph easily could have abandoned her completely, he could have chosen to believe she was lying- I mean she doesn't have much evidence to back her up at this point- but ends up deciding to really think of all the options with the information he had:

"But while he thought on these things, behold, the angel of the Lord appeared unto him in a dream, saying, Joseph, thou son of David, fear not to take unto thee Mary thy wife: for that which is conceived in her is of the Holy Ghost. And she shall bring forth a son and thou shalt call his name Jesus: for he shall save his people from their sins....

...Behold, a virgin shall be with child, and shall bring forth a son, and they shall call his name Emmanuel, which being interpreted is, God with us"


Joseph was able to receive personal revelation straight from God in regards to how he should move forward in his relationship with Mary. He was able to find out for himself, through the angel, that she had been telling him the truth. What an amazing experience! And just thinking about what was going on over in Mary's part of the story- she had been told by an angel she'd give birth to the son of God. That would be terrifying to not know who would believe you- family, friends, and especially her future husband, who, let's be honest, probably didn't know her all that well at this point. But I love that Mary's job wasn't to convince Joseph that she was telling the truth- all she needed to do was tell him what had happened, and after that God was able to confirm what she had said.

And that's something I need to be better at in all of my relationships- family, friends, etc.-trusting as I speak truth and put God first, He will provide the rest. in Because Joseph trusted Mary initially, and was looking what direction to take, he was able to receive a fuller knowledge of his situation and move forward in a positive direction. And because of Mary's trust in God, she was able to bravely tell Joseph the truth, even though the odds of him believing her were extremely slim. So after all the feels and the shares, both are able to receive a specific answer from God independently of one another, which allowed them to grow closer together as their relationship progressed.

I am so grateful for a loving Heavenly Father that knows the hearts of each of his children. I am grateful that He lets us figure things out one step at a time- and I am grateful that He is always willing to let us see the bigger picture when we are ready to progress. I know that one of the most important things we can focus on while we are here is the relationships we develop with our family, friends, and others we meet along the way. And I am learning as we take time to establish and enrich our own relationship with God, I definitely know we will have a greater ability to trust, love, and understand those around us. I know it's not always going to be perfect. I know not everything always goes the way we want it to- sometimes life downright stinks. A lot. But I know I can trust in God and it will all work out. I know He has done so much for me, and I am grateful for the patience, love, and understanding He shows me on a daily basis. I am so excited to learn more about Him and about Christ over this next month! I love you so much and I hope you have a most excellent week!

Much love,
Emmers