Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read about what the world will be like after Christ comes again. The desert will blossom as a rose, the sick will be healed, sorrow and sighing will flee away and there will be gladness and rejoicing. Wow!  What a wonderful time this will be. Isa. 35: 1-10 "The wilderness and the solitary place shall be glad for them; and the desert shall rejoice, and blossom as the rose. It shall blossom abundantly, and rejoice even with joy and singing: the glory of Lebanon shall be given unto it, the excellency of Carmel and Sharon, they shall see the glory of the Lord, and the excellency of our God. Strengthen ye the weak hands, and confirm the feeble knees. Say to them that are of a fearful heart, Be strong, fear not: behold, your God will come with vengeance, even God with a recompence; he will come and save you. Then the eyes of the blind shall be opened, and the ears of the deaf shall be unstopped. Then shall the lame man leap as an hart, and the tongue of the dumb sing: for in the wilderness shall waters break out, and streams in the desert. And the parched ground shall become a pool, and the thirsty land springs of water: in the habitation of dragons, where each lay, shall be grass with reeds and rushes. And an highway shall be there, and a way, and it shall be called The way of holiness; the unclean shall not pass over it; but it shall be for those: the wayfaring men, though fools, shall not err therein. No lion shall be there, nor any ravenous beast shall go up thereon, it shall not be found there; but the redeemed shall walk there: And the ransomed of the Lord shall return, and come to Zion with songs and everlasting joy upon their heads: they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away."

In the Book of Mormon I read about the 2,000 strpling soldiers. Their fathers had entered into a covenant with God that they would never fight in a battle again or shed men's blood so they could not help the Nephites in their fight against the Lamanites. However, these 2,000 young men had not entered into that covenant and so they were able to help fight for freedom and liberty and defend their country. They were valiant, courageous and righteos young men who kept the commandments of God. Alma 53: 10-21 "And now behold, I have somewhat to say concerning the people of Ammon, who, in the beginning, were Lamanites; but by Ammon and his brethren, or rather by the power and word of God, they had been converted unto the Lord; and they had been brought down into the land of Zarahemla, and had ever since been protected by the Nephites. And because of their oath they had been kept from taking up arms against their brethren; for they had taken an oath that they never would shed blood more; and according to their oath they would have perished; yea, they would have suffered themselves to have fallen into the hands of their brethren, had it not been for the pity and the exceeding love which Ammon and his brethren had had for them. And for this cause they were brought down into the land of Zarahemla; and they ever had been protected by the Nephites. But it came to pass that when they saw the danger, and the many afflictions and tribulations which the Nephites bore for them, they were moved with compassion and were desirous to take up arms in the defence of their country. But behold, as they were about to take their weapons of war, they were overpowered by the persuasions of Helaman and his brethren, for they were about to break the oath which they had made. And Helaman feared lest by so doing they should lose their souls; therefore all those who had entered into this covenant were compelled to behold their brethren wade through their afflictions, in their dangerous circumstances at this time. But behold, it came to pass they had many sons, who had not entered into a covenant that they would not take their weapons of war to defend themselves against their enemies; therefore they did assemble themselves together at this time, as many as were able to take up arms, and they called themselves Nephites. And they entered into a covenant to fight for the liberty of the Nephites, yea, to protect the land unto the laying down of their lives; yea, even they covenanted that they never would give up their liberty, but they would fight in all cases to protect the Nephites and themselves from bondage. Now behold, there were two thousand of those young men, who entered into this covenant and took their weapons of war to defend their country. And now behold, as they never had hitherto been a disadvantage to the Nephites, they became now at this period of time also a great support; for they took their weapons of war, and they would that Helaman should be their leader. And they were all young men, and they were exceedingly valiant for courage, and also for strength and activity; but behold, this was not all—they were men who were true at all times in whatsoever thing they were entrusted. Yea, they were men of truth and soberness, for they had been taught to keep the commandments of God and to walk uprightly before him."

Some scriptures with a thought booklet tell us not to be unduly concerned or anxious about anything, but to give thanks to God in prayer, and also presenting our requests to Him. If we do this, we'll be filled with the peace of God, which passes all understanding. I've noticed in my own life if I'm very troubled or stressed, if I pray and thank the Lord for all the things I have to be thankful for, I feel better. No matter what we're going through, we still have many blessings to be grateful for. And thinking of them puts us in a more positive frame of mind. We can indeed cast our burdens upon the Lord and allow Him to carry them. The thought that went with this, written by Brenda Smith from Kingwood, West Virginia said: My friend and coworker Cindy had cancer again. She had had major surgery in January, and in the fall the doctors found more cancer and scheduled more surgery. Although she was nervous, Cindy always thinks of others before herself. She is a mother of five children and a first grade teacher. Her concern was always for the children, her husband, and her friends. I typed Philippians 4:6 for her and told her it was my don't worry be happy scripture. It became one of her favorite verses. On the day of her ten hour surgery we, her coworkers, waited anxiously for word. That afternoon, a goodie basket arrived from the local florist. On the card it said, "I am not anxious about anything. I am thankful. I have presented my requests to God. Love, Cindy." Once again, Cindy was thinking of others. She knew we would be worried and wanted to alleviate our fears. It was a powerful thing to have HER reminding US that she had put her faith in God--and that we should, too. Philip. 4: 6-7 "Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus."