I've been thinking about how I hear the voice of God and I've realized that it is as I seek him. It's as I pray. It's as I work on the things I feel gently prompted to work on.
I've felt that I need to take more time to step away from the distractions of the world and give him some space to speak to me. And it's not just something where I can take thirty minutes here and there. Rather, it's a new way of life that I need to find. I need to seek God first and not let the world drown out his voice.
The Spirit wants to speak to me, but I have to give him room to do so. I've felt that he is there so quickly as I step away, repent, and recommit. I plead for help and I'm given it, but it comes in greater abundance as I do my part.
For instance, if I want to exercise more and I pour out my heart to God about my struggles in that area, he gives me an initial boost, some ideas, and some clarity of mind. After that, I need to act. And then I often struggle again. I reset, I recommit. And then I fail again. But I just keep trying. And hopefully in that trying I get just a little bit better each time.
I've noticed that I progress simply by repeatedly telling God my desires and the things I'm working on. I fully acknowledge to him how very short I fall on everything and earnestly plead for my Savior's grace to help me. I know that Heavenly Father knows me. And I know that he wants to help me improve. What he wants to see is my willingness to do so and my recognition of where I would like to grow. I can't do it alone. I can't even wake up in the morning and breathe on my own. It's by the grace of God that I can even be alive each day. Once we realize that, all pressure is off. Once we realize that we really can't do ANYTHING without the grace of God, we feel free. We realize that we can make mistakes. We realize that it's the only way. As much as we'd like to go through life and never have challenges or make mistakes, or fail on our goals over and over, it's just not an option.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we can't set goals and reach them. But what I am saying is that we never do anything fully on our own strength. It's God who is, as King Benjamin stated, giving us breath and preserving us from day to day.
Gratitude is where it starts. Once we realize that we are northing more than the dust of the earth, it's impossible to not feel gratitude everyday. Christ gave his life and suffered all so that I can have a shot. So that I have any hope at all of returning to live with my Father in Heaven again. I want to thank him every day for what he did. I want to tell him my desires and plans to improve. I want to more fully rely on his grace. I want to know how it works. I want to feel how it works. I don't always know how it does, but for me it starts with a recognition of how wide the gap is between me and perfection and then a desire to improve. A desire to be there. A desire to struggle day after day to try to make a half a step more. I'll never get there because I'm a mortal being. But I can become perfect in Christ. I do not know how that works, but I feel that it does. I hope that it does.
So many times in my life, I look back and remember the worries I had. I wondered when I would get married. I prayed for it so often. I didn't know when it would happen, who my wife would be, or how I would get there. And now that I am married and I look back, I still don't know exactly how it happened. What I do know is that I desired it, prayed for it, dated a lot, tried to do the right things and put God first, and he took care of it. My Heavenly Father has been so very good to me. I have had so many blessings poured out on me.
I have been given the opportunity to love, to help, to serve. He puts people around me who need me, if I just look and listen. All he asks is that I magnify my calling, that I keep my covenants, or at least try to do so. He asks that I practice. He asks that I desire to improve. He asks that I take even the smallest steps in the right direction. He's happy with any effort I make. Christ has already paid the price. What it means for me depends on how willing I am to trust him and do hard things knowing he's always right there.
It's hard to put bad habits behind you. It's hard to pull yourself away from social media when the whole world is on it. It's hard to not throw several hours a week toward a never-ending buffet of TV series. But it's not impossible. And the Lord rewards us for even the smallest effort. But we do have to make the effort. Otherwise, agency wouldn't be a thing. We get to choose our lives and what we'll be. God will force no man to heaven.
Know this, that every soul is free. To choose his life and what he'll be. But this eternal truth is given, that God will force no man to heaven.
God wants me to start out by doing the little things with precision. He wants me to study his words each day. To prioritize that. To not have it be an afterthought. How many other inconsequential things do I so freely fling my time after? Social media, video games, eating, seeking validation from getting a couple upvotes on reddit. That's not fulfilling. It doesn't make my spirit feel good. I feel empty, uninspired, tired, burned out, far from vibrant.
I was born to create. I was born to be there for those around me. I was born to progress. I was born to do hard things. I was born to overcome. And all of this is possible because I have a Savior. You have one too. He knows you. He hears you. Even when you don't think he does. Take a few moments to disconnect, step away, and hear him. It might take some time, but it's worth the effort.
I've felt that I need to take more time to step away from the distractions of the world and give him some space to speak to me. And it's not just something where I can take thirty minutes here and there. Rather, it's a new way of life that I need to find. I need to seek God first and not let the world drown out his voice.
The Spirit wants to speak to me, but I have to give him room to do so. I've felt that he is there so quickly as I step away, repent, and recommit. I plead for help and I'm given it, but it comes in greater abundance as I do my part.
For instance, if I want to exercise more and I pour out my heart to God about my struggles in that area, he gives me an initial boost, some ideas, and some clarity of mind. After that, I need to act. And then I often struggle again. I reset, I recommit. And then I fail again. But I just keep trying. And hopefully in that trying I get just a little bit better each time.
I've noticed that I progress simply by repeatedly telling God my desires and the things I'm working on. I fully acknowledge to him how very short I fall on everything and earnestly plead for my Savior's grace to help me. I know that Heavenly Father knows me. And I know that he wants to help me improve. What he wants to see is my willingness to do so and my recognition of where I would like to grow. I can't do it alone. I can't even wake up in the morning and breathe on my own. It's by the grace of God that I can even be alive each day. Once we realize that, all pressure is off. Once we realize that we really can't do ANYTHING without the grace of God, we feel free. We realize that we can make mistakes. We realize that it's the only way. As much as we'd like to go through life and never have challenges or make mistakes, or fail on our goals over and over, it's just not an option.
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm not saying that we can't set goals and reach them. But what I am saying is that we never do anything fully on our own strength. It's God who is, as King Benjamin stated, giving us breath and preserving us from day to day.
Gratitude is where it starts. Once we realize that we are northing more than the dust of the earth, it's impossible to not feel gratitude everyday. Christ gave his life and suffered all so that I can have a shot. So that I have any hope at all of returning to live with my Father in Heaven again. I want to thank him every day for what he did. I want to tell him my desires and plans to improve. I want to more fully rely on his grace. I want to know how it works. I want to feel how it works. I don't always know how it does, but for me it starts with a recognition of how wide the gap is between me and perfection and then a desire to improve. A desire to be there. A desire to struggle day after day to try to make a half a step more. I'll never get there because I'm a mortal being. But I can become perfect in Christ. I do not know how that works, but I feel that it does. I hope that it does.
So many times in my life, I look back and remember the worries I had. I wondered when I would get married. I prayed for it so often. I didn't know when it would happen, who my wife would be, or how I would get there. And now that I am married and I look back, I still don't know exactly how it happened. What I do know is that I desired it, prayed for it, dated a lot, tried to do the right things and put God first, and he took care of it. My Heavenly Father has been so very good to me. I have had so many blessings poured out on me.
I have been given the opportunity to love, to help, to serve. He puts people around me who need me, if I just look and listen. All he asks is that I magnify my calling, that I keep my covenants, or at least try to do so. He asks that I practice. He asks that I desire to improve. He asks that I take even the smallest steps in the right direction. He's happy with any effort I make. Christ has already paid the price. What it means for me depends on how willing I am to trust him and do hard things knowing he's always right there.
It's hard to put bad habits behind you. It's hard to pull yourself away from social media when the whole world is on it. It's hard to not throw several hours a week toward a never-ending buffet of TV series. But it's not impossible. And the Lord rewards us for even the smallest effort. But we do have to make the effort. Otherwise, agency wouldn't be a thing. We get to choose our lives and what we'll be. God will force no man to heaven.
Know this, that every soul is free. To choose his life and what he'll be. But this eternal truth is given, that God will force no man to heaven.
God wants me to start out by doing the little things with precision. He wants me to study his words each day. To prioritize that. To not have it be an afterthought. How many other inconsequential things do I so freely fling my time after? Social media, video games, eating, seeking validation from getting a couple upvotes on reddit. That's not fulfilling. It doesn't make my spirit feel good. I feel empty, uninspired, tired, burned out, far from vibrant.
I was born to create. I was born to be there for those around me. I was born to progress. I was born to do hard things. I was born to overcome. And all of this is possible because I have a Savior. You have one too. He knows you. He hears you. Even when you don't think he does. Take a few moments to disconnect, step away, and hear him. It might take some time, but it's worth the effort.
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