I was asked this question:
"I am at a point where I do not know how to get past the fear to move on to faith. In my being I know that if I can get past this I can do all God asks of me, and I want to. Do you have any suggestions as to how I can accomplish to get over the hump? If you have any it would be greatly appreciated. I have always wanted to see my Savior from the time I was very small, but I know that I need faith to do it. Please help, if you can."
Everyone faces the identical challenge. It seems different only because of our individual strengths and weaknesses. The challenge is adapted to our own personality, capacity and life's history. Therefore, when you are asked to overcome something, it will fit in the framework of your life.
All are asked to make a sacrifice that shows they will not withhold anything from the Lord. It will come to each person based on what they value and would regret to their core surrendering. Whatever that is, you will be asked by the Lord to give it to Him. You must decide to do that when asked.
All are asked to do something that they view as wrong, evil or inappropriate and will seem to be inconsistent with the Lord's mercy, righteousness and perfection. The request will unmistakably come from Him. You cannot evade the request because you doubt He is asking. You will clearly know it is Him who asks, and that to all your understanding it will be wrong to do. You must do it anyway.
All are asked to take a step in faith beyond where they are at the time. Trust in Him, and only Him, as you take that step. You will be certain that if it were something you were undertaking on your own, it could not be accomplished. But because you are doing as He has asked, you know you will have the strength or support to do as He bids.
All are asked to come to Him without guilt or shame, knowing you have done everything you understand Him to have asked of you. Without this knowledge, you will not be able to endure what He asks.
All are able to develop the faith to lay hold on eternal life only because they have been led by Him through this process. When they have the faith sufficient to lay hold on these things, the Lord will declare to them by His own voice, that they have been begotten of Him and have a place with Him in eternity.
This is universally the process. The specific form each of these will take will vary from person to person because of individual traits.
You said:
ReplyDelete"All are asked to do something that they view as wrong, evil or inappropriate and will seem to be inconsistent with the Lord's mercy, righteousness and perfection."
After having read the tenth parable in your book, this statement doesn't seem consistent with the sanctifying process you describe having gone through. Your 18-year lesson on charity and compassion, though apparently the greatest lesson to be learned (the final lesson, the great test), was not fraught with a lingering sense of "wrong, evil or inappropriate" -ness. The opposite seems true, in fact. Would you please explain how the principles taught in your post were manifest in your experiences?
I wanted to make a comment that may be important to someone. In this sacrifice or trial or thing asked that most challenges or sears the individuals soul, there is great freedom. I wanted to mention freedom. Deep inside all of us there is something so deep related to freedom I think we all yearn for it. I would venture to say the sacrifice that is spoken of in this post may sound heavy, but the result just may be a freedom that I think joyous to the soul. The kind of freedom Christ enjoyed and enjoys. A special kind of freedom. One which he desires for us to also experience.
ReplyDeleteIts a beautiful thing. My words may not be very poetic but for me they ring true. The sacrifice results in freedom. Perhaps not in a instant, but that is the result. These are not words borrowed from others. They are my own.
ML1321: First, "The Mission Virtue" is not intended to explain all there is to the Gospel and the challenges we are called upon to face here. For that you would have to read and have before you everything I have written in one overall view.
ReplyDeleteThat having been said, even in that parable there is a juxtaposition between perceptions of good and evil. The person about whom the parable is written believed in something which those who shared his Church membership did not believe, did not accept, and thought was entirely wrong. He was rejected as a "witless liberal" and a "fool" as well as a "gullible simpleton." The truth will make eventually bring you into conflict with those around you. Good is called evil and evil called good, and only the person who is in the right way can decide the matter. As they do they will be told they are deceived, wrong, evil.
You mustn't think, however, that all the principles of truth and all the requirements for exaltation are contained in that single account. It was about something "missing" because other challenges and understandings had been first acquired. Nevertheless, even in acquiring the final missing virtue there was active opposition in which good, religious people sharing a Church with the character worked actively to stop the progression. And he had to determine what was "good" and what was "evil" in a contradiction to the values of his Church peers.
All of us must do that. Issues will change, but the reality will not.
The step of faith, into the unknown, is not that what God asks us to do will seem to us as wrong or evil or against what the Prophet teaches, but it will seem wrong or foolish or alittle off to almost every single person you know. For if they are not following the Prophets as they should, they will see right as wrong, so they don't feel guilty.
ReplyDeleteBut as you said Denver, you will know it's right. The Lord will have explained it all to you & you will understand why you are doing the things you are told to do. It's just that you feel like you're the only one doing it.
But there will be no fear & no feeling you are doing something wrong, you will know it's perfectly right, but you must be able to withstand & not heed the finger pointing & the mocking from almost everyone you know, as you hold fast & cling to the Iron Rod. For so few really believe in the Iron Rod today, that's the real problem.
But what you are asked to do will always be in harmony with the Gospel & the teachings of the Prophets, especially our living Prophet. And it will bring great joy & peace into your life, even if you must walk seemingly alone for awhile.
I have to take exception to the previous post. What makes the “thing” so trying is that you don’t understand the reason. Had I understood the Lord’s reasoning, the following trial would not have been a tenth so trying.
ReplyDeleteI had an experience like this in November and to this day it has puzzled me. After reading Denver's post, I think I understand better why I was asked to do something so strange. Denver, if what you are saying is correct it answers so many questions.
I was told to do something very specific (as I was saying a prayer while driving in the car.) It was so completely out of the blue and didn’t make sense to me in any way. Since it didn’t make sense and seemed wrong and, quite frankly, scared me, I spent the next 2 weeks trying to figure out the ‘best’ way to be obedient. I told myself, and I think really believed, that I was trying to be obedient but was just trying to do it in the ‘wisest’ way possible.
Two weeks into this process, I needed some help and inspiration with my church calling. As I was praying for guidance another distinct voice in my mind said that I wouldn’t receive any more revelation until I was obedient to what I’d already been asked to do (not in those words.)
I was startled. I thought I was being obedient – I was intending to but was just figuring out ‘how’ to obey. I finally realized I was attempting to obey the Lord using mans’ wisdom or in a way that wouldn’t seem so foolish. In other words, I was relying on the arm of flesh to guide me through this process. When I realized that, I was struck with such fear to think that I just had to obey, no questions asked! It took me another 2 weeks to obey. I prayed and prayed for another confirmation that this was, indeed, what the Lord wanted me to do. Was it really from the Lord? It didn’t make any sense. I received none.
One day, while again praying for courage to obey, I remembered the account of Oliver Cowdery and the words from the Lord that ‘the time is past.’ I felt like if I didn’t do what I needed to do that day, I too would hear those words. The thought of that happening was worse to me than doing what the Lord had asked. I summoned all the courage I could, and through tears, obeyed.
The only confirmations I’ve received since then that I did the right thing are, 1) the immediate relief from stomach aches and angst I’d had for a month as I ‘tried’ to obey replaced by a feeling of peace 2) a feeling of peace and happiness that came over me when something was said in a church meeting and 3) a spiritual experience my daughter had when she prayed about it.
I still have rushes of fear concerning my future because of what I was told to do. When this happens, I pray for and receive peace.
Now I understand why it was so hard for me to firmly believe it came from the Lord. As Denver said, it seemed ‘wrong.’
It was, in fact, the hardest thing I have ever been asked to do.
Amazing that I could follow that command, and yet not turn over much simpler things to the Lord – things that I know are impeding my growth. Ah…I struggle!
thanks...the barometer works.
ReplyDeleteI need to clarify that I was taking exception to the previous “comment” by Anonymous, not Denver’s “post.”
ReplyDeleteWow, all this is hard and incredibly big. I certainly appreciate having a chance to be exposed to these ideas and work through some of my own fears. I also appreciate Ic's comment above. My 20 year-old daughter keeps having such experiences of being asked to do things that seem nuts and wrong, and it takes her time, but she obeys.
ReplyDeleteI would really appreciate further clarification from Denver on the difference between what Ic is saying and what Anonymous said. It seemed to me also that Denver's original post was saying what Ic said and not what Anonymous believes. There is such an enormous difference between the two.
Will the Lord ask us, then, to do something that seems wrong and evil to us and not just something that goes against what others believe but is in line with the prophets and the scriptures, according to our own understanding? It sounds like Denver and Ic are saying that the Lord will ask us to do something that goes against everything we believe, including that it sounds like it's going against what the prophet and scriptures are saying. This is scarier than heck, but if, as I believe Denver said, we will know with assuredness that it is the Lord that is asking it of us, there could be a prayer of a hope of doing it. If we were NOT able to be 100% sure that the request was from the Lord, we -- or I, at least -- would be dead in the water.
We must be very careful though. Heavenly Father will never tell us to break any of our sacred covenants or hurt our spouse & children in any way or do something that is wrong & against the counsel of the Prophets, ever. This is our safety net. All revelation & inspiration must be in harmony with the Prophet's teachings & our covenants or we know it's from a wrong source, no matter how right it may feel.
ReplyDeleteWhile what we do may 'seem' wrong to others (who may not be following the Prophet's themselves), it should not feel wrong to us, our actions should never go against the Prophets words & we must make sure our promptings are 'righteous' before we follow them.
If we have lost the Spirit for some reason, we will usually be the last to know & can't tell, & we will think what we are feeling & being prompted to do is from the Holy Ghost & we often won't be able to see that it is wrong or at least we will rationalize it somehow. Most people fall this way. So our only sure test is the Prophet's words & keeping our covenants, no matter what.
One of the Adversary's greatest ploys is to get us to think we are the exception to the rule or that going against the Prophets is ok if the 'Spirit' tells us to do so. So many people are deceived to do wrong (which often looks ok to them) because they feel the Spirit told them it was ok or they should.
So many are deceived & prompted while even in the temple, to break covenants & do wrong, because they falsely think the Adversary can't influence them in there. We must be so careful.
Always follow the Prophet & the commandments & keep your covenants, the Spirit will never tell you differently, ever.
As Elder Maxwell liked to say, our mortal education is highly individualized. Abraham sought repeatedly to find an heir. The Lord finally blessed him with one and then asked for Isaac to be sacrificed.
ReplyDeleteThe surrounding cultures were sacrificing humans so the act wouldn't look evil to outsiders. Abraham himself was almost put to death. But this trial would be particularly grievous to Abraham because of his past experiences and desire to see the the fulfillment of his convenant with God. It was an act of complete trust to raise up a knife against his chosen son in the name of the God who promised Abraham seed more numerous than the sand and stars!
The sacrifice you lay on the altar will involve your own deepest, darkest fears and troubles. You will climb your own Moriah and it will be a true sacrifice because it will involve the beliefs that are the most sacred and tender TO YOU.
I'm not sure that I agree with the characterization of the required sacrifice being "evil" but it must be one that others around you will not understand and may ridicule. Even Abraham had to leave his friends at the base of the mountain. While it's a lonely journey in terms of human companionship, it's not one worth trading.
This has been very interesing, but I feel confused. This is a topic I've looked into of late. Without anyone being specific, what are some rounabout examples of the kinds of things one can expect in the form of the sacrifice?
ReplyDeleteAlso, are these requests out of the blue, or does one feel this kind of a request is on the horizon? I assume, it's right before something incredible will happen, but I could be wrong. Any input on these questions are appreciated. Like I said, I know this is part of the process, but would like more info if anyone feels this is appropriate.
I would love it, and I think we all would, if "Anonymous" is correct that we can be assured that we will never be asked to to anything that seems to us to be out of line with our covenants, with the Prophet's words, or with the scriptures. But it didn't sound to me like that was what Denver said. The comment by "mercyngrace" sounds like they're also hoping "Anonymous" is correct. I'm not in a position to know, at present.
ReplyDeleteInterestingly, this doesn't seem like a question to ask in prayer, unless Anonymous is indeed correct. If the answer is to the negative, meaning, if it's true that the Lord can ask you to do something that seems evil and outside of everything you believe, then how is He going to answer that prayer? The answer would defy and contradict the experience He might want you to have.
Denver, could you please comment further.
mercyngrace explained perfectly what I felt “the sacrifice you lay on the alter will be your own deepest, darkest fears and troubles.” Interestingly enough, my spouse had no problem whatever when I told him/her what I felt prompted to do. But to me, it was huge!!! That actually made it harder for me because I wanted someone to ‘walk the path’ with me… you know, hold my hand through it. Mercy’s comments “you will climb your own Moriah and it will be a true sacrifice because it will involve the beliefs that are most” (sacred, or foundational, or emotions etc) “to you” is exactly right. My spouse would have a completely different test to try him/her to the core as we are each different people with different concerns and outlooks. Mercy also hit it on the head in saying that you will be ridiculed…I was. I also completely agree with Anonymous that we should never go against our covenants.
ReplyDeleteAnonymous asks a fair question. I didn’t want to get into specifics but to help explain my experience a little better I’ll just say that it had to do with doing something with our money that was anything but smart – by the world’s standard. And no, it wasn’t going into debt or going in on some business venture. I was told, however, in exact words, what to do with our money. Going before our accountant was…oh I don’t even know how to describe it – extremely humbling and difficult…I’m sure I was the talk of the office…you know the “stupid example.” To my spouse, financial security has never been something that keeps him/her awake at night. And right or wrong, it has kept me awake at night, which I’m sure is why the Lord chose to test me in that area.
Hope that was somewhat helpful.
I didn’t answer the entire question anonymous asked. In my experience, yes, it was out of the blue. And as of November..nope, there hasn’t been any thing particularly different in my life.
ReplyDeleteI left out one vital point in my lengthy posts above. (Sorry, I was trying not to make it too long) But someone mentioned Abraham, so I think we must clarify that if you are the Prophet, all bets are off, & you could receive something new & out of your realm of right & wrong, like Joseph Smith being told to live Plural Marriage or Abraham being told to sacrifice his son Issac.
ReplyDeleteThat is the one exception - The Prophet - the only person on earth who can speak for God & receive new revelation contrary to previous commandments. Otherwise everyone else on earth, from Apostles down to us, must make sure that their inspiration & thinking is totally in harmony with the Prophets.
This is the only way we can know that we aren't being deceived by a false Spirit or vision or dream, or someone's opinions & teachings or even the philosophies of men that most are accepting today as truth. God has promised us this fact over & over through his Prophets. That we can know for sure if what we feel to do is right because the Prophets will have talked about it enough to know it's right.
And remember, it's absolutely critical to never ever break your covenants for any reason, especially your marriage covenants. Elder Packer said they will keep us safe. Break them & we will not be safe he said. But do we know what we have covenanted? Especially to our spouse? How about 'True Love', as Elder Holland teaches.
Even what I am saying here you must search out & pray to know if what I say is true, you can't just believe me or anyone, except the Prophet. So we must search out what he & all the other Presidents say on certain subjects.
In order to not be deceived we must 1- Have the Holy Spirit as our guide (but even most of the wicked think they do).
So 2- is very critical too, we must compare our inspiration to what the President's of the Church teach, especially our living Prophet & make sure it matches.
Unless we have both 1 & 2 we will surely be deceived very easy & not even know it & still feel righteous.
Very few people ever do step 2, because it takes alot more work than just receiving promptings & praying or fasting about something. Thus countless people are led to do evil, while thinking they are doing right.
Remember, the Adversary is usually the 1st on the scene to answer your prayers & try to inspire you to do something that is much easier & pleasing to you, than what the Spirit would tell you to do.
Sorry this is so long. I hope it helps. I just see so many members, nice people, all around me being deceived by the worst of evils & yet they don't even realize it. So I feel I must say something when I can.
With respect to Anonymous' last comment: The "Prophet" cannot receive revelation for every person in the Church, or world. His role is "macro" not "micro." Salvation is "micro" not "macro." That is to say, almost ALL revelation you're going to encounter in this life will come to YOU, be specific to YOU and will guide YOU. The "Prophet" will know absolutely nothing about the Lord's direction to and revelations to YOU. If you wait to have the "Prophet" tell you what to do, you're going to get general admonitions to pay tithing, keep commandments, avoid tatoos, not get more than one earring, not watch pornography, keep the Word of Wisdom, sustain the Church leadership, keep a current Temple recommend, do your Home and Visiting Teaching, attend your meetings, perform faithfully in your callings, etc. ALL of which are very good in their own right and should be done. But whether you make a sacrifice required of you by God, adapted to you alone, and calculated to produce the faith necessary for eternal life, well that is unlikely to ever be a matter of general concern to the Church. Generations will come and go without making the required sacrifice if waiting for some leader to tell you how and what to do. God alone will do that.
ReplyDeleteAnon,
ReplyDeleteJust some food for thought...if only the prophet of the time will receive inspiration that is contrary to the commandments, what of Nephi? I don't believe he was the prophet of God's church at the time he was asked to slay Laban, something that was absolutely forbidden to do in the 10 commandments. He had a very specific directive from the Lord which he had to trust. Was it the right thing to do? Absolutely, but it wasn't something the church, as a whole, would receive counsel about at all. I don't think many of us will be asked to kill an individual for the Lord's purposes, but as others' have suggested here, our individual trial will be so difficult the only thing we will know to be true is it's the Lord's will, even if it goes against everything else we know to be true.
I really appreciate everyone's comments on this, especially Denver's last comment about our need to receive our own specific revelation and not think the prophet can receive it for us.
ReplyDeleteHowever, no one is actually addressing the core of my question insofar as no one's comments yet address that Denver said, "All are asked to do something that they view as WRONG, EVIL or inappropriate and will seem to be inconsistent with the Lord's mercy, RIGHTEOUSNESS and perfection."
Being asked to do something that deals with my greatest fears and something that will bring ridicule upon me, etc., is not the same something that seems to be inconsistent with the Lord's righteousness. Again: Is it possible for the Lord to ask of you something that SEEMS like it is going against the scriptures, prophets, covenants, etc.
Anonymous has been crystal clear about what she/he thinks about this, but her/his comments don't address what Denver said.
Ic has made a comment partially addressing this, saying, "I also completely agree with Anonymous that we should never go against our covenants." But I'm looking for help to reconcile all of this with Denver's original post.
Help, please. And if you're going to comment on this further, can you please explain how your ideas reconcile with what Denver said (if possible).
lc,
ReplyDeleteAnother thing to note when considering Abraham's trial is that contrary to the way it is presented in the English Bible, God didn't command Abraham to sacrifice his son. God asked him to do so. It was a request like one friend would make of another. Such was the request made of me. The Lord understood the magnitude of what He was asking and so He did not command me. He simply said "Will you do this?" I had to choose to comply because I love and trust Him, not out of any sense that my salvation hung in the balance as might have been the case if I felt His petition was a command.
All true sacrifices are completely voluntary.
p.s. The magic word in my question is "SEEM". I'm certain the Lord will never ask us to do anything that IS evil or wrong or inconsistent with His righteousness, but it might SEEM like it is to us. All of us pretty much have our own specially designed versions of what we think the commandments, the words of the prophets, and our covenants ask of us. I bet almost all of us are off to some degree.
ReplyDeleteThanks Sabrina and Ic. What you have said helps. I think I'm getting a feel for this. By the time I wrote my p.s. comment, I was starting to get clear.
ReplyDeleteJust an interesting side note: Nephi's slaying of Laban was not against Jewish law at the time. Because Laban had sought to take their lives and had stolen their property, he was actually justified in slaying Laban under current Jewish law. The directive to slay Laban did, however, go against his own personal desires and feelings, "Never at any time have I shed the blood of man. And I shrunk and would that I might not slay him."
Kisi, I can’t give a definitive answer to the ‘evil’ question because it is outside my small circle of experience. I’ve never been asked to do anything that went against my covenants or that seemed evil (like Nephi being told to kill Laban.) I just have my own, personal experiences to draw from and they haven’t included that. I’ve only been asked to do something that seemed very ‘wrong.’
ReplyDeleteKisi, I have not personally had that experience but with a little thought we can see that Denver is correct. Abraham (human sacrifice), Nephi (killing a man), Joseph (taking another wife) would all see ‘evil’ to them! We have those examples to look to to see clearly what Denver is suggesting. I think your clarification of using the word ‘seem’ helps us to understand this principle.
ReplyDeleteEver since this post came up I have been looking inside myself at what the Lord could ask of me that would be the hardest, what would freak me out the most, where are my "pet interpretations" of doctrine. This is being really good for me. I don't think I can afford to have anything (including pet interpretations of doctrine) that keeps me safe. Safety is in the Lord, in my relationship with Him and in obedience to Him, not in interpreting His doctrine.
ReplyDeleteThanks to everyone for your comments and insights and for what you've shared.
I agree with Denver that the Prophet will not tell us every little thing that we must do to achieve Exaltation & live righteously. He give us the big things that lead us to be able to receive the smaller details from the Holy Spirit.
ReplyDeleteWe can be receiving floods of personal revelation & knowledge on doctrines & subjects that may have never been completely explained or revealed yet by the Prophets. Still though, such mysteries & revelation that come to us must be tested against the Prophet words & must all be in harmony with & never go against what the Prophets have said. Such inspired personal knowledge & insight can just add to their words where they left off, in wonderful & enlightening ways.
But I do believe that whatever the Prophet does say by the Spirit, is for the whole world & the Spirit will never tell anyone anywhere anything different or contrary to what the Prophet says. His words are law & scripture for everyone on earth, no exceptions.
As far as Kisi's questions about being asked to do 'something seeming wrong', as I said in my above posts, it is my belief we will never be asked to do something that is wrong or evil or against the commandments & teachings we already have been given.
Others may not agree with me though & that to me is very dangerous ground, for I know countless people who have falled & lost everything because they think they are the exception & can go against the Prophets words.
It is possible though, that we may just not understand things completely when the Spirit tells us something to do & we may have alittle doubt as to why we are told to do something, but we will NOT feel we are doing 'wrong'. We just may need to go & study on a particular doctrine & find out more why we were asked to do such a thing, but it will still feel 'right' in some unknowing way.
I can give one example of this that may help. I was once counseled by a Bishop to do something that common sense & the Spirit told me, in no uncertain terms, that if I followed him it would severely hurt or destroy my marriage & family. I had to tell him right then & there that I didn't think he was right & that I would not do it.
I understood why he was wrong, but I didnt understand why the Spirit would tell me to go against my Bishop. I was under the false impression that is so popular in the Church, "that you follow your Bishop, even if you think he is wrong & you will be blessed." That I found out, is not true, it only pertains to the President of the Church. But I had heard it so much through the years that when the Spirit told me not to follow what he said, I came to a great moment of stepping into the unknown. I had to choose to follow the Spirit & my own inspiration that day more than my Bishop & that was not wrong, & I didn't feel I was doing wrong, I just didn't understand yet how it was right, though I knew it was right or I would not have done it.
I went right home from his office & studied what the Prophets had said about 'following leaders counsel' & found many words of the Prophets that explained very clearly that it is only 'The President of the Church' we still listen to & follow, even if what he says seems wrong to us. Any other leader who tells us to do something wrong or teaches something false, we must not follow or we will be held accountable for it & recieve the consequences that come from following error.
This puts alot of responsibility on us to understand doctrine & the Gospel & also to make sure we have the Holy Spirit as our guide.
I'm also glad the clarification was made about Nephi, I thought someone might bring his example up. I agree, he was totally justified, he just didn't want to have to do it. So he is not an example of a 'Prophet' being told to do something seemingly evil or wrong.
Sorry this was so long.
Thanks for setting me straight on the slaying Laban thing. I think I may have read a little about that somewhere, but I've never looked into depth about Jewish law etc. Looks like it's something I should do to give me some more context. Great discussion going on here. Keeps the wheels in my head turning.
ReplyDeleteJoseph Smith, The Prophet “The sacrifice required of Abraham in the offering up of Isaac, shows that if a man would attain to the keys of the kingdom of an endless life, he must sacrifice all things. When God offers a blessing or knowledge to a man, and he refuses to receive it, he will be damned.”
ReplyDeleteSo now I have a new question as a result of what DKD just wrote and also what Denver has written in "Belief becomes knowledge".
ReplyDeleteI can understand that in order to have the faith to lay hold on eternal life, you have to be willing to sacrifice all things. And then you are apparently asked to sacrifice something that is perhaps the hardest thing of all for you. But there is a difference between being willing to sacrifice all things and being asked to sacrifice all things. DKD just quoted Joseph Smith as saying, "he must sacrifice all things." The question here is about the word "ALL". Lecture 6 of the Lectures on Faith also says "require the sacrifice of all things". I didn't get from this original post that actually sacrificing all things is required. Abraham wasn't asked to sacrifice all things, nor was Nephi. The only person I can think of in the scriptures who was is Jesus Christ.
Comments, anyone?
p.s. If you're wondering why I'm asking a question instead of just working to get my own answer, as Denver is trying to teach us to do, you'll have to read my post at the end of "The process is everything." This is one way I get answers (from the Lord) -- through questions and discussions. (That is, if Stephanie puts up this comment and the one I just referred to. :)
How do you know you are willing to sacrifice all if you aren't required to do so?
ReplyDeleteYou may think you are willing but unless you are asked to do so, you won't really know.
You receive the request. You climb the mountain. You build the altar and you raise the knife. And then The Lamb in the thicket appears. You ultimately discover that what you laid on the altar was a pittance in comparison to the love of God and that your willingness to give all has secured your claim to anything worth sacrificing in the first place.
Even when Heavenly Father asks us to sacrifice everything, which often is one thing at a time, til we realize we have given everthing, he blesses us all the way through, with the constant assurance that these sacrifices are only temporary & that at least in the next life all will be returned to us 100 x greater or more.
ReplyDeleteSo with the sacrifice comes great peace & even incredible joy that what you are asked to give is just a great privilege to trade something lesser for something far greater.
If someone wants to comment on this I'd enjoy any feedback. On more than one occasion I remember being especially willing and wanting to give all, to sacrifice all things. Events, circumstances, etc, came up or had already come up that seared so deep and to the core I'm not the same anymore. (writing this looking back, I have only the Lord to thank for all the good that can come)
ReplyDeleteDuring the time there were such awful feelings I was willing to do anything to rid myself of them. It was clear I had found “my thing” I always sorta knew what it was. I'm used to life beating me up a bit, dealing with the range of human emotions, life, death, pain disappointment and sorrow, but this was in a whole new sphere. A degree I had never before experienced or even thought existed. Frightened me terribly. In it all I discovered I suddenly had a frame of reference for understanding many spiritual experiences I had heard through the years.
Anyway during this time there were varying "promptings" to do or not do or say certain things. My desire and willingness to "sacrifice all things" was very very strong which can open the door for other things as well.
At first I obeyed every thing that I thought could be a prompting. This did not always go well. Made me feel worse a lot of times. So at ropes end I decided to ignore all of them. There was some relief in that. I suppose it was a really good learning experience because I learned to discern. Both God and the Adversary seek our obedience.
I found comfort in Denvers words about "the" sacrifice being made in small steps over years of time. Doesn't need to be one giant thing.
For what it's worth, probably only to me, I learned to trust God. I found new meaning to phrases such as "encircled about eternally in the arms of His love" The phrase gives an impression of safety. Safety and rest for the soul. God really is our Faithful Father. He already knows what we are going to do. I think maybe the test is for our own knowledge of that. (I believe Denver said something like this in a post a while back)