Faith

These past few weeks, our mission president has been asking usto rely on the Lord more. Why? The answer is quite simple, this is His work, these are His Children, and He desires that all of his children return to him. This is the work of their salvation. So why not rely on Him more?

 

We had interviews this last week, and as I talked with President, he asked me to consider what would happen, if I gave everything that I had and didn`t see one baptism my entire mission. I told him that I would either have really strong faith, or I would be really mad and hurt and my faith would take a large hit. We then went on to talk about that it is only natural for people to hold things back - to play things safe so they have something or someone to blame. For example, everyone can probably say if I had actually given it my all in high school I could have gotten a 4.0, no problem. Well then, why didn`t you do it? Was it too hard? What were you afraid of? People, (especially me) lie to themselves so that they don`t have to feel pressure or face  that they might not be good enough. They tell themselves, “oh, if I had just studied a little harder, I think I could have done that.”   So my next question is how bad do you REALLY want it? Not how bad do you think you want it, but how bad do you know you want it? This is what I have been pondering a lot recently. For the past few weeks, we have been seeing one lesson as our number. I know that we haven’t been relying on the Lord as much as we should have been. We were out working, but not with a purpose. As my Dad always says  "WORK must proceed the miracle." How true this statement is, but we must define work.

 

Work - going out to serve the Lord with all of our heart, might, mind and strength BELIEVING that the work will move forward in the Lord`s time.

 

So basically this means we need to build a relationship with the Lord that emulates unwavering faith. How do we do this? This question has been mixed in my thoughts A LOT recently. When it comes to being a True Disciple, I should not be like the boy who dipped his toe in the water and then claimed he went swimming. Wishing to see changes and more "personal success" is good; actually making those changes happen and doing is much better.  We cannot lie to ourselves and say we did give it our all if we only dipped our toe into the water. He asks for all!!! He wants this in every aspect of our lives,.  He wants us to rely on Him entirely. Quoting President Holland, "we can`t possibly do this alone, but we do have help. The Master of Heaven and Earth is there to bless you..." He knows everything, he is our creator. We may not know why our situation is the way it is... We may not understand the route our life is taking us... But He does. I as a missionary cannot do this work alone, and neither can any person on this Earth fulfill the purpose of this life alone. "With men this is impossible, but with God all things are possible" (Matt 19:26). I have really come to believe this. Do I have a perfect knowledge of it yet? No way. But as President Uchtdorf stated in his October 2012 Conference talk, "Discipleship is the pursuit of holiness and happiness. It is the path to our best and happiest self." This is a process not an event. We must work daily, all day even when it is hard to show our faith to Heavenly Father. President Uchtdorf continued, telling the story of when he goes on bike rides with his wife he would like to be a little more competitive and a little more faster, but when he mentioned this to his wife she said, "It`s not a race it is a journey! Enjoy the Moment!" Yes there are so many days out here on the mission when I just want the clock to strike 10:30pm so I can ask Heavenly Father to help me and then climb into my warm covers and go so sleep. But why?!? I should enjoy the hardest moments of life. And that`s where the miracle in Imabari comes in to play.

 

These past few weeks, we have been working, getting out with a smile and doing what we are supposed to. We were being missionaries. But our badge says differently... we are supposed to be missionaries of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. Missionaries for God`s true perfect and restored Church. My companion and I decided that in order to do that we would keep a constant prayer in our heart, and then, so we could remain humble, we prayed after every miracle, and thanked Heavenly Father. The results, four new investigators, and a young man was able to change his Sunday schedule and came to church and accepted a date for baptism. Did my companion and I do that?! Absolutely not!!! We are simply the instruments of the Lord. 

 

This is something I plan to master on my mission, and then continue to live throughout my life, as I raise a family and help raise them through the power of the Lord. Giving it my all and praying for the Lord`s strength. Because with man this is impossible but with God all things are possible. 

 

-Elder Wilcox