First, I have to start by saying that I know that my Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ live and that they love me! I have learned that all of those clichés are true … “What doesn’t kill us makes us stronger” or “We won’t be given more than we can handle”. I know that these are the last words that you want to hear when you are struggling and hurting.
However, it is when you are struggling and hurting that you have to find the strength to really believe this.
More importantly, I have to ask you a question … do you believe Christ? I didn’t ask if you believe that Christ is real or that He lives, I asked do you believe Him? Do you believe that He can do what He said he can … that being, heal you when you are sick or suffering from any sort of trial? After all, the promise of the atonement is not just to pay the price for our sins but it is that Christ suffered for us and because of that He can heal us from anything.
The problem is that it is easier to believe in Christ but not believe Him. In order for us to allow ourselves to be healed, we need to trust and have faith that Christ really can do what He promised.
One of the most wonderful things about the atonement is that it is ready and available to help us 24 hrs. a day 7 days a week. All we have to do is really learn to put our trust in the Lord and turn our trails over to Him. In Mathew 11:28-30 Christ teaches us what will happen if we allow Him to help us. The scripture reads:
“Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and
ye shall find rest unto your souls.
For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light”
What a wonderful invitation and promise. The question isn’t who wouldn’t want to make their burden lighter because I think that everybody does … the issue is how do you do it.
What I found is that it takes faith, trust, and a development of a relationship with both our Heavenly Father and Christ.
After all, how can you trust somebody to pick you up when you are broken and bleeding if you don’t even know them? This is one of the reasons that we are reminded that we need to read the scriptures, pray, go to church and serve others. These are all ways for us to “learn of me” … learn the nature of our Savior and develop a deep relationship with Him. Because isn’t it much more comforting to turn to a shoulder of a close friend to cry on rather than a stranger?
We are Heavenly Father’s children and He loves us and Christ loves us. They want us to know them as intimately as they know us. They never leave us to suffer on our own … we are the ones that need to put forth the effort to learn how to hear them, how to turn our sorrows 100% over to them and trust that everything will be okay.
