Refining Our Lives through Work and Revelation
We can rely on God and His Son to improve our daily work and to refine our personalities.
Who are we, really?
No matter our age, we always have new skills and talents to learn, family members to help and support, and decisions to make.
But do we really want to rely only on our own abilities?
We are children of God. That’s sometimes hard to believe in a world where so much uncertainty reigns. Every generation has had its trials and pandemics and political upheavals. What we have been experiencing recently may be unique in some ways, but life is always giving us challenges.
And as we face these challenges, we can rely on God.
Relying on God is more than hoping to have a life without struggle. It is about looking to Him to guide us through our struggle. Our relationship with Him is what can drive us forward.
We can see more clearly by starting each day with a simple desire: to do what God asks of us and to learn to be more like His Son, Jesus. This requires constant self-examination. Talk to God in prayer and ask yourself: Whose life can I bless today? What can I do to be more like Jesus?
These kinds of practical questions can help guide our behavior and lead us to be more patient with what life brings. Daily introspection and contemplation help us learn to turn away from what the world accepts as normal to what God expects of us as His immortal children. It will not always be popular to live according to God’s teachings. It won’t always be easy to understand His will. But if we keep trying, really trying, we will find our sense of peace deepening as we discover our divine character.
There will certainly be times of distress, misfortune, and grief. But we can be faithful, and we can live with a knowledge that is stronger than fear or doubt.
Gethsemane was very difficult for the Savior. And many times in our lives, we may figuratively be asked to return to our own Gethsemane. The great gift that we all have is the ability to choose. When we choose to keep the covenants we have made, we will find paths that lead us through the darkness and into the clearing where we can reflect on what we have learned and how far we have come.