What is Hope? A blessing? A commandment?
Much of what I do at work revolves around change. Change is hard mostly because the future is uncertain and humans despise uncertainty. I certainly do. But what is it about change that is encouraging, that allows the minority of us to take the chance, to embrace that unknown? It is hope. Hope of something better in the future than what we have today.
At work, that is about better efficiencies, better customer relationships, a kinder public perception of our industry, and hopefully better outcomes for patients.
In our spiritual lives are the changes that we are making, and we are always changing whether we like it or not, driving us towards hope or closer to a state of despair? There are times in our lives where it may seem that positive change is not enough. A slow and steady progress may just seem too little to comfort our broken hearts. The Lord has an answer for us even in these cases. Ezekiel teaches us...
Eze 36:26
26 A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you: and I will take away the stony heart out of your flesh, and I will give you an heart of flesh.
The Lord promises breath of newness. A heart of flesh touched by the finger of the Lord. This doesn't mean a heart impervious to the stones that will come but one that just maybe will be able to endure those stones just a little better than the last time. This instills a tremendous amount of hope...particularly since the Lord has seen fit to offer me a rejuvenated heart and soul. What a blessing!
But is hope always a blessing? What does the Lord expect of us? Ether offers some insight here...
Ether 12:32
32 And I also remember that thou hast said that thou hast prepared a house for man, yea, even among the mansions of thy Father, in which man might have a more excellent hope; wherefore man must hope, or he cannot receive an inheritance in the place which thou hast prepared.
The Lord has prepared a way for us but the Plan of Salvation requires no man to fall into the Lord's embrace. Ether tells us that we must have hope. Hope certainly is a blessing but it comes from action on our part. To strive for hope is a commandment.
There are great rewards for those how follow the Lord's command. Even when times are good, we must still have hope. In so doing, protection is offered.
1 Thess 5:8
8 But let us, who are of the day, be sober, putting on the breastplate of faith and love; and for an helmet, the hope of salvation.
My helmet has been beaten and battered. It has lost its shine and has dents and scratches from the pellets of the adversary but it is strapped on for the hope of salvation is mine.
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Each day, as I study the scriptures and pray I come to learn more about my own spirituality and purpose. I am deeply grateful for these little morsels of enrichment and the blessing of personal revelation as I continue my adventure here on Earth.
Where do we obtain the guidance we need? We turn to Him who knows us best—our Creator. He allowed us to come to earth with freedom to choose our own course. In His great love, He did not leave us alone. He provided a guide—a spiritual road map—to help us achieve success in our journey. We call that guide the standard works, so named because they—the Holy Bible, the Book of Mormon, the Doctrine and Covenants, and the Pearl of Great Price—constitute the standard by which we should live. They serve as a standard of reference, as are standards of time, weights, and measures that are kept in national bureaus of standards.
To reach our objective of eternal life, we need to follow teachings in the standard works and other revelations received from prophets of God. Our loving Lord foresaw our need for guidance: “For strait is the gate,” He said, “and narrow the way that leadeth unto the exaltation and continuation of the lives, and few there be that find it. -Russell M. Nelson
1 comment:
You have spoken of hope at length in the past two posts. Hope gives us strength to move forward. As long as we are moving in that direction, as we look back our past becomes smaller and more remote. We see what is right in front of us. Hold on thy way...you WILL finish this race strong!
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