On Sundays my posts will take a more spiritual tone. Today I want to talk about faith in Jesus Christ and how it shapes my life and helps me through not only this incredibly hard time but everything I experience.
This morning I played this song, I Believe in Christ. I haven’t listened to it in many months but today it made a strong impression again. Please listen to the song included in this post.
I especially love the fourth verse of this song:
I believe in Christ; he stands supreme!
From him I'll gain my fondest dream;
And while I strive through grief and pain,
His voice is heard: "Ye shall obtain."
I believe in Christ; so come what may,
With him I'll stand in that great day
When on this earth he comes again
To rule among the sons of men.
My favorite line has always been, “I believe in Christ; so come what may.” I have a hard time sometimes expressing ideas I feel strongly. Let me, for now, share a quote that explains some of what I feel about the help we can receive from our Savior, Jesus Christ:
“The Lord Jesus Christ is our partner, helper, and advocate. He wants us to be happy. He wants us to be successful. If we do our part, He will step in.
He who descended below all things will come to our aid. He will comfort and uphold us. He will strengthen us in our weakness and fortify us in our distress. He will make weak things become strong.”
– Joseph B. Wirthlin
Over the course of my adult life I have had my share of hard times. Some felt so difficult I didn’t think I could get through them. I remember clearly one time I collapsed on the stairs of our home at the time and just cried and said, “I can’t do this anymore.” Immediately I felt a surge of ability. Nothing changed in my situation but I was able to get up and keep going. I have no doubt that that was my Savior helping me. It is almost funny to look back on that time from the perspective of what I am going through now. This is so much harder. But because I have had experiences like that in the past, I have no doubt that He will be there now and in the future.
Since the day my husband left I have been given strength, peace, reassurance, hope and love. I know that my Savior is helping me and looking after me. It isn’t a constant flow but it is there when I need it. I know without a doubt, as the quote says, that he wants me to be happy and successful and if I turn to Him I will be. What does that look like though? How do we turn to Him? I have spent so much time praying and I know that we can find Him there. He will bless us as we need when we ask. He asks us to live a good life – to keep His commandments, do our best and put the effort into building our faith through not only the hard times but the good times too. When we need Him, we will know where to turn and have the necessary faith for Him to help us.
I want to add one more quote from the same author:
“I do believe that the way we react to adversity can be a major factor in how happy and successful we can be in life.
If we approach adversities wisely, our hardest times can be times of greatest growth, which in turn can lead toward times of greatest happiness…
The Lord compensates the faithful for every loss. That which is taken away from those who love the Lord will be added unto them in His own way. While it may not come at the time we desire, the faithful will know that every tear today will eventually be returned a hundredfold with tears of rejoicing and gratitude.
– Joseph B. Wirthlin
In our most gut-wrenching trials or the daily struggles of life, we have a choice. We can become frustrated that such things are allowed to happen to us and separate ourselves from our greatest support. Or, we can turn to Him and allow Him to transform those experiences into eventual knowledge, growth and blessings. I know that He will do that for each of us. I have experienced it and am holding out hope for what will be made out of this current hardship I am going through.
My question for you today is, what do you do to stay focused on Jesus Christ in your daily life and through the hard things you have experienced? What have you learned as you have turned to Him?
Sunshine and Rainstorms 
Each morning I say a prayer of thanks for all the blessings of the previous day. Sometimes it’s short and other times I can’t even name everything because there were so many things to be grateful for. ( Something I got from a talk by Sylvia Allen). Then, I cross reference my own personal scripture reading, then I read several pages in the Book of Mormon. (After Pres. Nelson gave us a challenge to read the Book of Mormon in a short amount of time, I can testify of the power that comes from that book.) After that I spend 15 minutes doing family history research and organizing temple work. This is time consuming but I don’t feel prepared for the day’s challenges until I’ve done all these things. I even resist the urge to dive into my day before doing all these things. These things allow me to feel the spirit and I feel so much better equipped to handle what the day brings. I find when I am engulfed with a problem that this time during my morning becomes a sacred time of peace, a refuge from the storm. I can’t make it without it.
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