This last week in our youth class, we talked about how mistakes and "failures" are great....if we learn from them. Since that discussion, I have had plenty of opportunities to learn :), the most notable being trying to make a potluck baked potato dinner for a group of people, slow cooking the potatoes in the oven all day, only to find at the end of the day they were dried out, tough, and still not cooked. Lesson? Google things first before trying something new when feeding company...among other things.
Anyway, I was listening to 1 Nephi 2 this morning while grating up the remainder of those same potatoes into hashbrowns when something struck me! First, the Lord tells Lehi what a fabulous job he is doing in obeying the Lord and doing His will. Then He says, "Okay, now, because you did such a great job, you need to pack up your family, leave your riches, leave your temple, and leave your friends and go into the wilderness. I will not tell you where and I will not tell you for how long. Just do it. Oh, and I love you! Good work!"
I don't know about you, but if I were Lehi, I might be a little confused. "I thought that I just did something right. Now what was it exactly you wanted me to do? Why is this hard?" You know the Lord could have just smitten the wicked and left the righteous standing. He could have blessed Lehi with everything He needed...but the Lord didn't. He sent Lehi and his family into a tough outdoor adventure for "several years."
Not exactly the "reward" I would think of for doing God's work, but it reminded me that every perceived failure, tough situation, or challenge is not always because we have failed or done something wrong. Sometimes it is just God's way to teach us.
Isn't it interesting that the Promised Land is always on the other side of a wilderness?
I don't know about you, but if I were Lehi, I might be a little confused. "I thought that I just did something right. Now what was it exactly you wanted me to do? Why is this hard?" You know the Lord could have just smitten the wicked and left the righteous standing. He could have blessed Lehi with everything He needed...but the Lord didn't. He sent Lehi and his family into a tough outdoor adventure for "several years."
Not exactly the "reward" I would think of for doing God's work, but it reminded me that every perceived failure, tough situation, or challenge is not always because we have failed or done something wrong. Sometimes it is just God's way to teach us.
Isn't it interesting that the Promised Land is always on the other side of a wilderness?
That last line could be its own post, all alone.
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