Hey y'all! You know how sometimes you just have those weeks you just have something weighing on you constantly? That was me the past couple of days. It seemed to consume my thoughts. Here's the lesson that I learned though: "...for we know that it is by grace that we are saved, after all we can do." (2 Nephi 25:23, Book of Mormon)
We begin to make an effort towards fixing a problem, and once we have done all we can in our power, Christ can take over. Brad Wilcox states it this way, “Jesus doesn’t make up the difference. Jesus makes all the difference. Grace is not about filling gaps. It is about filling us.” P.S. Read the rest of his talk - it has changed my life. Find it here.
Just as I had to realize this week, we need to do our part and then turn to Christ in those moments. Why should we carry around that burden when He has already paid the debt for us? He is literally waiting for us to show faith in him so that He can then remove the burden. Now that I think about it, I do not remember an exact moment when the guilt and weight left me, but as I try to recall it, it is absolutely and completing gone. I cannot find it anywhere in my soul, because Christ has completely removed it.
Sometimes trials will not be removed immediately. In this, we can reference verses from Joseph Smith's experience in Liberty Jail, a time of great affliction for him. Section 122, verses 7-9 say, "And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers, and the sentence of death passed upon thee; if thou be cast into the deep; if the billowing surge conspire against thee; if fierce winds become thine enemy; if the heavens gather blackness, and all the elements combine to hedge up the way; and above all, if the very jaws of hell shall gape open the mouth wide after thee, know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good. The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he? Therefore, hold on thy way..."
Even if our trials take years to be removed, it does not compare to the weight felt by Christ. The weight of each individual sin of each person that has ever lived in the world. The weight of the cross He had to carry, the same cross where He would again suffer before finding His death. The weight of the nails hammered through His hands and feet. The weight of watching us suffer. In those moments, we can come unto Christ because He understands weight. He understands pain. And He does that so we do not have to face it alone.
To end, I want to go back to discussing our part. Not only are we asked to do our part before Christ can take over, but we can repay Christ for His mercy afterwards do by continuing to do our part. This is a quote I heard on my mission that has stuck with me since:
I had a missionary ask me once if I would give my life for the Church. I said, “Elder, I am giving my life for the Church.” I know what he meant. What he meant was, “Would you die for it?” Well, that’s the easy part. That’s a snap! On some days it looks really appealing. That’s the easy part, to die for it. Well, what God needs is people who will live for it, people who will go the distance, people who are in this race we’re talking about that will go all the way to the tape. And some may die along the way and that’s wonderful, but He needs people who will finish the work. He needs people who will wrap this up, and that’s the pledge I make to you, and that’s the pledge He asked. We’re in this together. (Jeffrey R. Holland, Miracle of a Mission. Full talk can be found here.)Have a great week, y'all! :)
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