Sting of the Scorpion

Depths in the Sea

President Spencer W. Kimball:

"There are depths in the sea, which the storms that lash the surface into fury, never reach. They who reach down into the depths of life where, in the stillness, the voice of God is heard, have the stabilizing power which carries them poised and serene through the hurricane of difficulties".

(“Conference Excerpts,” New Era, Jan. 1974, 6)

"And he arose, and rebuked the wind, and said unto the sea, Peace, be still. And the wind ceased, and there was a great calm."

(Mark 4:39)

There is only One who has that stabilising power upon our souls, Jesus Christ. We can have peace, when we are still, and He will rescue us, of this I am sure.

Fiery Darts

Our sunday school lesson last week was on this subject, based on this scripture:

"Above all, taking the shield of faith, wherewith ye shall be able to quench all the fiery darts of the wicked". (Eph 6:16)

Someone made a comment on this that really resonated with me. Paraphrasing, they said that fiery darts were much more dangerous than regular darts/arrows. A dart might be able to penetrate a chink in some armour, but it would only do localised damage, whereas a fiery dart once it has penetrated will consume the rest of the body, and quickly.

You can definitely see the correlation here to temptation and sin - that it is never localised, that it does affect 'all' of us, once acted upon. I think that the reverse is also true though that good attributes can consume the bad too. I hope that we will increase our faith, thereby increasing our protection from these nasty fiery darts, that just keep on coming!

Spiritual Lightning

This is from one of my favorite gospel writers:

“And now, my brethren, I desire that ye shall plant this word [the doctrine of Christ] 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 33:23).

Having burdens lightened through the joy of the Lord Jesus Christ requires planting in the soul a spiritual knowledge of things as they really are (see Jacob 4:13). Much of the heaviness that we bear develops from a faith that is not sufficiently informed.

When we are weighed down by the problems of a telestial world, we need some spiritual lightening. Spiritual lightening suggests spiritual principles and powers that can light up our minds and lighten our loads. It may be possible to assume too great a burden and to take it all too seriously. This is possible even when the damages in our lives involve sex, drugs, and other heavy sorrows – because virtually all damage, innocently incurred, or self-inflicted, is ultimately reversible through the Lord Jesus Christ. It is spiritual lightening to realize that in most cases the actual details of the elements of our lives matter less than what we choose to become in the midst of them”.
(from ‘Spiritual Lightening’ by M. Catherine Thomas, p.2 & 7)

I think that is a powerful statement that “the actual details of the elements of our lives matter less than what we choose to become in the midst of them”. The “why me?” questions are often the ones which accentuate the burdens we face, and the way forward is when we start answering the questions of “what am I to learn?” and “who am I to help?” because of these things.

As we come unto the Lord with full purpose of heart we will see things as they really are, because we will have the vision of eternity.

Unkept Promises

Elder Neal A Maxwell:

"The heaviest load we feel is often from the weight of our unkept promises and our unresolved sins, which press down relentlessly upon us".

I love this quote because it is so true! We can feel so much more happiness than we do, so much more quickly, if we put off that natural man. The atonement can take an immediate effect upon our hearts if our desires are sincere.

The Saviour loves us and is eager to take the weight from us, I really know this is true.

The Pool of Bethesda

"Just as the lame man at the pool of Bethesda needed someone stronger than himself to be healed (see John5:1-9), so we are dependent on the miracles of Christ's atonement if our souls are to be made whole from grief, sorrow, and sin".

—Merrill J. Bateman, Ensign, May 1995