Posted on by Abe Austin

Scriptural Analysis- Exodus 23:20-23

20 Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared.

21 Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.

22 But if thou shalt indeed obey his voice, and do all that I speak; then I will be an enemy unto thine enemies, and an adversary unto thine adversaries.

23 For mine Angel shall go before thee, and bring thee in unto the Amorites, and the Hittites, and the Perizzites, and the Canaanites, the Hivites, and the Jebusites: and I will cut them off.

We have reached the end of these laws and now comes a grand promise to the Israelites, detailing all the great things that Gods will do for them if they obey Him. To start it off, God declares that there will be an angel sent down among them. Apparently that angel would speak to them at times, and also he would watch the people closely to see their behavior. If they broke their covenant, he would not be able to tolerate it. The angel carried the name of the Lord, and so he had to condemn everything that was unworthy of the Lord.

On the other hand, if the people were to obey every word, then the angel would set himself against their enemies. He would go before the Israelites, cutting off the pagan nations in Canaan before Israel even arrived in the land.

Thus, there was no neutral outcome. The angel’s strength would be against one side or the other, it was simply up to Israelites to steer that wrath according to their faithfulness. Even today we have this sense that obedience to the Lord will cause Him to be a champion in our cause, fighting our enemies for us and winning our battles. Even if we still experience trials after being faithful, we believe that we are fighting through those trials alongside God, as opposed to fighting against Him for having been unfaithful. Thus, everyone in life fights, the only question is against who and with who?

Posted on by Abe Austin

Count Your Blessings- Personal Example

Recently I had an opportunity to reflect on how very many blessings I have in my life right now, and I was quite moved by the tally. If I go back three short years I recall a time of life that was very dark, one where I was beset by all manner of adversity and addiction. It was at then that I finally decided to really lean into God, and the time since has been a rush of healing and growing.

There are so many things that I worried about back then that I just do not worry about now. And I can honestly say that it has nothing to do with great and impressive things that I did. Frankly the “things that I did” were the whole problem, and it took all these blessings from God to save me from them!

He has not only taken care of the essentials in my life, He has also sprinkled me with pure pleasures for no other reason than that He apparently loves to make me happy. How then can I ever be dissatisfied in life?

And yet I can. Because shortly after being in awe of my blessings, I had a couple days down in the dumps. And after having my nose tweaked a little bit all of my gratitude was immediately replaced with all sorts of indignant “this isn’t fair” and “woe is me” feelings. None of the blessings had been taken back, my life was still as bounteous as ever, but the lens I view the world in can tint even the brightest day with blackness.

Honestly just writing this post has helped my mood a great deal by how it has reminded me that those blessings are still there. And that is one of the benefits of counting one’s blessings, it allows us to cut past the murkiness that sits on top, and view the pure water that still lies beneath.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Count Your Blessings- Question

There is a great deal of hardship in the world right now, and there will only continue to be so. Not just because of the long-term effects brought on by this global pandemic, but also because of the ceaseless local and personal trials that are forever bringing people to their absolute lowest points.

There are those that are becoming hopeless, and then doing desperate, tragic things because of it. Despair is one of the worst states to be in, one of the surest ways to crush a soul. As I consider how one combats such feelings of darkness, I believe it is essential to count one’s blessings.

I know that to anyone who is at the end of their rope such a recommendation might seem flippant, an attempt to just sweep real troubles under the rug. But that is not my intention at all. I genuinely believe that reflecting on the good in one’s life does a multitude of wonderful things for the soul, including refreshing and preserving it. I believe it is essential for the happiness of the afflicted, I believe it is essential for the continued happiness of the blessed.

As we take a look at all the ways in which counting one’s blessings continues those same blessings, I would love to hear from your own experiences as well. What sorts of things make you feel that you cannot muster up gratitude? How do you combat the pull towards despair? In what ways does the recognition of God’s blessings lift you through the hard times?

Posted on by Abe Austin

Seeking Spiritual Witnesses- Revelation 3:15, Ether 12:6

I know thy works, that thou art neither cold nor hot: I would thou wert cold or hot.

And now, I, Moroni, would speak somewhat concerning these things; I would show unto the world that faith is things which are hoped for and not seen; wherefore, dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith.

COMMENTARY

I would thou wert cold or hot
Relationships can be positive or negative. We can be reaching for God, chasing after Him with a vibrant fire, or we can be steeling ourselves against Him, cold and bitter in our hearts. In either case, there is a connection, and our passion will be met with a response.
But what a relationship cannot be is tepid. If we feel indifferent towards something then we have no meaningful interaction with it. If you are idly sitting on the fence about God, apathetic about whether He exists or what He is like, it’s going to take a lot longer for Him to get your attention.

Ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith
I held a spiritual apathy for many years. I was “okay” with God, and that was it. I did not try to push our relationship in any way. As such, I received no spiritual witness. But God loves us too much to leave us in a neutral state. So my life started to unravel, my faith revealed its limpness, and I felt truly miserable. Then there was no shortage of strong, even if conflicting, feelings towards God. I was both desperate for his reality, and frustrated at the life He had given me. It was then that I finally started to get some spiritual witnesses.
This process worked to get me started, but I have since realized that I have the power to instigate the trials of faith myself. They don’t only have to occur whenever something bad happens…they can also be when I try to do some new good thing. Whenever I stretch myself beyond my comfort zone and put myself on shaky ground, then God manifests Himself to me again.
So if you’ve been following God on autopilot and wonder why He hasn’t shown up for you, try doing something meaningful!

Posted on by Abe Austin

Peace in the Storm- Summary

I have had my own storms in life, and doing this study helped me process those experiences. It has been about a year since the most intense storm was finally dispelled, and I am grateful to be in the calm now. I will certainly enjoy this reprieve, but I am not so naive as to think that I will never have a trial again.

I do not know which challenges still lay ahead, I only know that they are out there and that they will be truly difficult. In fact I know that they will exceed me, and that the only way through them will be to rely on my Savior.

For me this study was about both looking back towards past storms and forward to next ones, using my bubble of peace to see things clearly while I can. In this study there were three main themes that I hope to remember the next time I’m surrounded by wind and rain.

All are subject to storms

We are not spared the trials of life by being faithful. Nor are we spared the trials of life by giving in to the world. I have heard both of these fictions preached, and each is meant to dissuade one’s faith.
The quietly content saint still has to face the realities of loss and death, and the prospering hedonist still has to face the anguish of a dissatisfied conscience. Everyone loses things, no matter what other comforts they have. Everyone dies, no matter what well-being they have enjoyed. Even the Son of God was not free from suffering.
Some storms can be avoided, and we’re certainly justified in sailing around the ones that we can. But some storms simply have to be gone through, and it doesn’t do one any good to deny it.
Matthew 27:46- And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?

God Supports us…and lets us stand alone

Perhaps the most common mistake we make when we ride into a storm is to try and fix it ourselves. We have this stupid pride that makes us feel that this is our problem, so we have to solve it alone. Or perhaps we feel embarrassed because we willfully steered ourselves into this problem, so we don’t feel worthy of receiving aid. Either way, we deny the aid of God, and also of the friends that he sends along our way.
Frankly God doesn’t care about either your pride or your guilt. Those simply do not matter to Him when there is a child that needs saving. So why not ask if this storm can be removed? And if it cannot be removed, why not ask if it can be lightened?
But how should you feel if you do ask for help and it isn’t given? Because sometimes God doesn’t intervene, or at least not in ways that we can recognize. Sometimes He leaves you to stand on our own. In this moment remember that He is leaving you to stand on your own, not to be broken on your own. He only withdraws when He knows you have the strength to ride this one out solo. His absence is His vote of confidence in you.
Matthew 23:37- How often would I have gathered thy children together, even as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings,
2 Corinthians 4:8-9- We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;

Our goal is to quiet the storm within

We have to make peace with the fact that many things in this world are beyond our control. Bad things will happen to us and those we love, and we will not be able to prevent it. Even with God’s help, some things will remain out of our control.
At least so it is for storms external. For the storms within, though, these can be controlled. We can live in perfect tranquility, never mind the raging all around. How is this possible? Well, by ourselves it isn’t. To achieve this state of peace we have to have help from a being that both has the power of a God, but also the humanity of a man.
For this reason Jesus Christ was sent to endure, and defeat, all worldly pain. His great sacrifice does not take the evil out of the world (not yet, anyway). But what it does do is take the evil out of our hearts. Truly we say that he overcame the world, but we do not see that victory universally. For now the manifestation of it is only localized within individuals.
Alma 7:12- And he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death which bind his people; and he will take upon him their infirmities, that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know according to the flesh how to succor his people according to their infirmities.
John 16:33- In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

Posted on by Abe Austin

Peace in the Storm- Matthew 14:29-30, John 16:33

And he said, Come. And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus.
But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and beginning to sink, he cried, saying, Lord, save me.

These things I have spoken unto you, that in me ye might have peace. In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have overcome the world.

COMMENTARY

But when he saw the wind boisterous, he was afraid; and began to sink
In the world ye shall have tribulation
Storms exist, they really do. Sometimes we make up pretend afflictions in our own heads, but even if we had the best of attitudes we still would have more than enough real troubles. Overcoming the world, therefore, is not simply a case of mind over matter.
Jesus, himself, attested that in this world we would have tribulation. It is unavoidable, because each of us is necessarily tied to a body that is subject to the world.

And when Peter was come down out of the ship, he walked on the water, to go to Jesus
And so we do not deny the presence of life’s storm, we only deny them power to control us. They might be able to affect the body, but we decide whether they gain access to the soul.
The storm was already raging when Peter stepped out into the water, but he overcame it by asserting that there was a higher power than it. Then he faltered and began to regard the storm more than his Savior. It was only then that the storm was able to claim him.

But be of good cheer; I have overcome the world
The problem with “mind over matter” is that it still tries to put the storm-defying power in us. I can clench my fists and grit my teeth and tell myself that I don’t feel the storm, but it won’t work. I’ll only exhaust myself and still be swept away. Have I overcome the world? No, only Christ has. Peter was not being sustained not by his mastery of the storm, only by Christ’s.
So forget about “mind over matter,” the correct mantra for overcoming our trials is “Christ over matter.”

Posted on by Abe Austin

Peace in the Storm- Question

There is an iconic scene in the gospels, that of the disciples floundering for control of their boat in the Sea of Galilee. A storm has arisen, and is of such intensity that they all expect to be drowned. They call out to Jesus, who is still sleeping, and he arises to calm the sea with three simple words.

For those whose lives are falling apart, this story resonates as a desperate plea. For those whose lives have already been saved, this story resonates as an affirmation of peace. And for those that have passed through some storms but are still in the thick of others, this story is both plea and affirmation!

Each of us have our storms in life. Many of us spend a long while trying to manage them on our own, delaying nearly to the point of destruction. Then, in that moment of despair, we cry out for help, desperately hoping that there is someone to answer.

With this study I would like to examine a few of the different storms that rage around us. I will consider the tragedies of life, the ridicules of the world, and the moments of intense doubt. We will examine how we do our own part to bring peace to these moments, and how we depend on God to make up the rest.

In the meantime I would be curious to hear about your own experiences of peace within a storm. How have you been able to remain tranquil when all the world was in foment? Were there any moments that eventually made you buckle? How did God come to your rescue?