I'm so glad I decided to restart my journal writing. Last night, I was flipping through my journal, and I found many insights that I had forgotten about. Among my favorites was about the second half of 1 Nephi 1:20: "But behold, I, Nephi, will show unto you that the tender mercies of the Lord are over all those whom he hath chosen, because of their faith, to make them mighty even unto the power of deliverance."
When I first started thinking about this verse, I thought it was saying that there were people who had faith, probably great faith, and those were the ones whom God chose to deliver. It seemed that God was playing favorites, preferring to save only those who did what He said, and leaving the rest to their own devices. At one time, I thought God was being selfish and picky.
But more recently, I saw the prerequisite of faith in a different light. The verse in question was referring to Lehi, who was delivered from the destruction of Jerusalem by being warned to leave it. Maybe it's not that God only chose to save Lehi because of his faith, but that He was able to save Lehi because he had enough faith to listen. Perhaps it's not a question of who God will choose to warn, but who will choose to listen to the warnings.
We receive promptings all the time, probably more than we notice or realize. I wonder how much more blessed our lives would be if we were more able to recognize and more willing to heed those promptings. Maybe I should start trying harder to make sure my radio tubes are in good repair.
1 comment:
Amen! wise words, indeed.
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