"Let God Prevail"

 I was struck by the recent address of the prophet of my church, President Russell M. Nelson.  He expounds on the word "Israel" which, among other things, means let God prevail.

There is something so beautiful in this concept: a trust, a submission, a deep faith in God.

He couples this concept with the mandate to gather Israel, something that often feels daunting to me and leaves me feeling inadequate:

For centuries, prophets have foretold this gathering,¹¹ and it is happening right now! As an essential prelude to the Second Coming of the Lord, it is the most important work in the world!

This premillennial gathering is an individual saga of expanding faith and spiritual courage for millions of people. And as members of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, or “latter-day covenant Israel,”¹² we have been charged to assist the Lord with this pivotal work.¹³

I was grateful for this address because as I listened to the talk again this morning, I came across this beautiful portion that kind of shifted that feeling of guilt to one of gratitude:

When we speak of gathering Israel on both sides of the veil, we are referring, of course, to missionary, temple, and family history work. We are also referring to building faith and testimony in the hearts of those with whom we live, work, and serve. Anytime we do anything that helps anyone—on either side of the veil—to make and keep their covenants with God, we are helping to gather Israel.

Motherhood.  Welcoming our new little Penelope into the world.  By giving her an opportunity to experience mortality--and experience it in a family that knows the covenants of God--we are helping to gather Israel!  When I speak of repentance and God's mercy and commandments to my children, I am gathering Israel. As I testify of my love of the temple and the covenants I have made there, I am gathering Israel.

The talk led me on to consider how I can "let God prevail" personally in my life and this process is surprisingly strengthening.

How?

Are you willing to let God prevail in your life? Are you willing to let God be the most important influence in your life? Will you allow His words, His commandments, and His covenants to influence what you do each day? Will you allow His voice to take priority over any other? Are you willing to let whatever He needs you to do take precedence over every other ambition? Are you willing to have your will swallowed up in His?¹⁸

We can look up.

When we are surrounded by darkness, overwhelmed by temptation or our inadequacies, despairing because of the evil that seems so pervasive around us, like Joseph Smith we can "exert all our powers" to look up and cry to God...and He then can prevail.  So what does that mean?  To me, it means being able to lean into someone so much stronger and smarter than I am and let them take care of me.  It is real.  It is the most comforting sensation.

It reminds me of what I read in the Book of Mormon yesterday, in Mormon.  Mormon is a prophet who has witnessed vast wickedness and destruction take over a people that he loves.  You can feel his love as he chooses to lead them into battles even knowing that they at their heart are rejecting the One who will help them win all battles. 

He uses the phrase: they might have been clasped in the arms of Jesus. I was struck this time by the word "clasped"...not really the type of manly word you would imagine being used by a hardened battle leader.  But Mormon uses the intimate and strong word to describe the relationship his people could have felt...to me, intimating that he himself had experienced it.  Letting God prevail is putting yourself in a place where you are letting yourself by clasped in the arms of Jesus.

O ye fair ones, how could ye have rejected that Jesus, who stood with open arms to receive you!

There are such beautiful promises with "letting God prevail":

When your greatest desire is to let God prevail, to be part of Israel, so many decisions become easier. So many issues become nonissues! You know how best to groom yourself. You know what to watch and read, where to spend your time, and with whom to associate. You know what you want to accomplish. You know the kind of person you really want to become...

Now, how does the Lord feel about people who will let God prevail? Nephi summed it up well: “[The Lord] loveth those who will have him to be their God...

And what is the Lord willing to do for Israel? The Lord has pledged that He will “fight [our] battles, and [our] children’s battles, and our children’s children’s [battles] … to the third and fourth generation”!

So my comforting messages:

-I am letting God prevail and gathering Israel right now in being a mother.

-I can reach up to Him when I am feeling weakest and He will prevail in the strongest way.

-By letting God prevail, I will have an easier time making decisions, I will feel God's love, and He will fight my and my children's battles...and really, what more do I need to worry about?

It has to be a regular, conscious choice.  Somehow, having felt that experience of being "clasped in the arms of Jesus" makes it easier. I am grateful for this beautiful reminder to "let God prevail."