Refocusing

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Early this morning, at 517am, I recorded a scripture in my journal that was in my mind: “How exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.” Then I went to the Gospel Library app to read that chapter.

The first counsel the Lord said was to repent:

  • “Repent, lest I smite you by the rod of my mouth, and by my wrath, and by my anger, and your sufferings be sore—how sore you know not, how exquisite you know not, yea, how hard to bear you know not.”

The Lord said that unless we repent we must suffer as He did:

  • “For behold, I, God, have suffered these things for all, that they might not suffer if they would repent; But if they would not repent they must suffer even as I; Which suffering caused myself, even God, the greatest of all, to tremble because of pain, and to bleed at every pore, and to suffer both body and spirit—and would that I might not drink the bitter cup, and shrink—“

Then the Lord changed His focus:

  • “Learn of me, and listen to my words; walk in the meekness of my Spirit, and you shall have peace in me. I am Jesus Christ; I came by the will of the Father, and I do his will.”
  • “Declare glad tidings, yea, publish it upon the mountains, and upon every high place, and among every people that thou shalt be permitted to see. And thou shalt do it with all humility, trusting in me, reviling not against revilers.”
  • “Pray always, and I will pour out my Spirit upon you, and great shall be your blessing—yea, even more than if you should obtain treasures of earth and corruptibleness to the extent thereof.”

Finally, the Lord ended His counsel with sobering words to ponder:

  • “Behold, canst thou read this without rejoicing and lifting up thy heart for gladness? Or canst thou run about longer as a blind guide? Or canst thou be humble and meek, and conduct thyself wisely before me? Yea, come unto me thy Savior. Amen.”

I love that the Lord’s counsel doesn’t stop with suffering but continues with ways to grow. It’s not about who I am currently but about the potential I have inside me and deciding whether to beat myself up or refocus.