Trusting

So today I am reading in 1 Nephi 22, and verse 26 really hit me. It says, ". . . because of the righteousness of his people, Satan has no power. . ." It's talking about the millennium, but it got me thinking. What if we could be so righteous that Satan has no power over us? Right now. Some of you might think I'm crazy, but I think it's possible. It says in that verse that Satan will have no power because of the righteousness of the people. If I am righteous enough, couldn't I get to the point where Satan has no power over me?

Of course, it will take a lot of work. And maybe I wouldn't reach that point in this life or until after Christ comes again. BUT, my point is, we need to really work hard to become so righteous that Satan can't have power over us. I have experienced that on a smaller scale. As I have grown closer to my Savior, I am less inclined to do wrong things. I still do, but it happens way less often, and the power of Satan is not as strong against me as it has been in the past. As I grow closer to my Savior, I feel the protection of the Spirit stronger than before.

Right now, we are on step 3: Trust in God.

Trusting God is kind of simple (yet so complex, I know). Trusting God opens so many doors to bring the Spirit into your life. This step, step 3, was the step that really opened the door to have more protection from the Spirit. The more I trusted God, the stronger I got. As I trusted God, my relationship with Him grew, and I had the desire to do the things He wanted me to, such as study the scriptures every day, pray with intent every day, listen to the promptings of the Spirit and act on them. Because I trusted God and turned my life and will over to Him, I am experiencing many blessings that I would not have right now without following the Spirit and trusting that He would lead me where I am supposed to go.

2 Nephi 1:1 also made me think. In this verse, Lehi says how great things have come to them because of the Lord bringing them out of Jerusalem. Well, I can't even imagine how hard it must have been for their family to leave Jerusalem and go out into the wilderness. We know Laman and Lemuel struggled with it, Sariah did at times, and so did Lehi. I bet there were even times when Nephi struggled a bit. But, Lehi had faith and took them out into the wilderness, and after years, he is looking back and saying what a great blessing it was and how the Lord blessed them.

How did the Lord bless them?

Well, He spared their family from being destroyed in Jerusalem. He also spared their lives many times in the wilderness: like when Nephi was spared from Laban, when God helped Nephi find food when their hunting tools were all broken, God guiding them with the Liahona, and them being spared on the waters. He also worked miracles through the building of the ship and the revelation of the tree of life. They had many experiences in the wilderness to come unto God and be perfected in Him.

Yeah, their initial trial of leaving was hard, but they gained so much more by following the Lord. They gained closeness to Him. By following that revelation, Lehi received more. His knowledge was added upon. And Nephi also gained much in his spiritual quest while in the wilderness too.

We are all in the wilderness somewhere. My husband is in the wilderness as he overcomes his addiction. I am in the wilderness as I try to deal with my anger and other emotions. But as we trust God (husband turning himself over and seeking help in overcoming this thing that has consumed him for half his life, me turning myself over and seeking help in overcoming everything that is consuming me) whether it's in ridding ourselves of Satan or just by following promptings and revelation, we are added upon. We may not see the tremendous blessings yet, but we will.

Trusting God will never lead us the wrong way.  

I'm grateful that I can look back on all this and be grateful. I'm grateful for the other leaps of faith I have taken in my life recently, and I am already seeing the blessings come from them.

He is there. He knows the way. If we can put our trust in Him, we will go the right way, even if it's scary at first.