"Look to God And Live"

“But behold, this is not all; these are not the only ones who have spoken concerning the Son of God.

Behold, he was spoken of by Moses; yea, and behold a type was raised up in the wilderness, that whosoever would look upon it might live. And many did look and live.

But there were many who were so hardened that they would not look, therefore they perished. Now the reason they would not look is because they did not believe that it would heal them.

O my brethren, if ye could be healed by merely casting about your eyes that ye might be healed, would ye not behold quickly, or would ye rather harden your hearts in unbelief, and be slothful, that ye would not cast about your eyes, that ye might perish?

…cast about your eyes and begin to believe in the Son of God, that he will come to redeem his people, and that he shall suffer and die to atone for their sins; and that he shall rise again from the dead, which shall bring to pass the resurrection...

And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word in your hearts, and as it beginneth to swell even so nourish it by your faith. And behold, it will become a tree, springing up in you unto everlasting life. And then may God grant unto you that your burdens may be light, through the joy of his Son. And even all this can ye do if ye will. Amen. (Alma 33:18-23)

“O my son, do not let us be slothful because of the easiness of the way; for so was it with our fathers; for so was it prepared for them, that if they would look they might live; even so it is with us. The way is prepared, and if we will look we may live forever. And now, my son, see that ye take care of these sacred things, yea, see that ye look to God and live.” (Alma 37:46-47)

“…and after they were bitten he prepared a way that they might be healed; and the labor which they had to perform was to look; and because of the simpleness of the way, or the easiness of it, there were many who perished.” (1 Nephi 17:41)

Although I didn't realize it at the time, these three scriptures have been constantly in my thoughts. As I'm sure many of you feel - if not most of you - I feel inadequate in so many aspects of my life. There are things that I'm good at, but there are many more things that I struggle with. And it's those things that I seem to worry so much about. Yes, these weaknesses are frustrating, heartbreaking, challenging, upsetting, exhausting, and sometimes embarrassing... but I've remembered a few important principles as I've tried to work through these. One, we're not always going to be perfect. There may be moments in our lives where things really seem to be going well - we're "firing on all cylinders" so to speak - but it's not always going to be like that, and that's okay. Life's ups help us stay motivated during the downs and they help us learn more about how God is; and life's downs return humility and dependency to our lives amidst the joys and successes of life's ups, and it's during the downs that we learn who God is.

Let me phrase it a little differently. Life sometimes seems to be all ups or all downs, but I believe that truly it isn't like that. The only thing that really makes us feel truly invincible or totally helpless is our attitude. They both result from a lack of faith. Life is full of both ups and downs, at the same time, and it's how we accept, confront, and overcome those challenges and success that help us learn more about God. Through the ups, we learn how God is and what heaven will be like - what it's like to experience and live in a world full of inexplicable joy, the pure love of Christ, and a myriad of other positive emotions. And through the downs, we learn who God is - that He is our Father, that He loves and cares about us, that He is an Almighty God through whom we can be saved, cleansed, forgiven, succored, mended, and healed. The ups and downs together remind us that there is a path, and that path to redemption and joy is quite simple. The way is prepared by the Son of God, our Savior, Redeemer, and Elder Brother.

And most of all, with every experience combined, we learn that there is only one way - God's way - to be humble and successful, truly happy even during the most devastating times, perfectly compassionate and justly condemning; and we learn that the way is prepared and all that we must do when we find ourselves in the downs of life is "look to God and live."