Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament the Lord told the people not to be afraid of the King of Babylon for the Lord would be with them and save them, showing mercy to them. But if they refused to trust in the Lord and insisted on going to Egypt, war and famine would follow them there and they would die there. How very important that we trust in the Lord.  He is more powerful than any king, and with Him on our side, we have nothing to fear. Jer. 42: 11-16 "Be not afraid of the king of Babylon, of whom ye are afraid; be not afraid of him, saith the Lord: for I am with you to save you, and to deliver you from his hand. And I will shew mercies unto you, that he may have mercy upon you, and cause you to return to your own land. But if ye say, We will not dwell in this land, neither obey the voice of the Lord your God, Saying, No; but we will go into the land of Egypt, where we shall see no war, nor hear the sound of the trumpet, nor have hunger of bread; and there will we dwell: And now therefore hear the word of the Lord, ye remnant of Judah; Thus saith the Lord of hosts, the God of Israel; If ye wholly set your faces to enter into Egypt, and go to sojourn there; Then it shall come to pass, that the sword, which ye feared, shall overtake you there in the land of Egypt, and the famine, whereof ye were afraid, shall follow close after you there in Egypt; and there ye shall die."

In the Book of Mormon I read about the great wars and destruction that occurred and the numerous people who were killed. There were so many dead that there was no one left to bury the dead and bodies were strewn all across the land, causing a terrible scent. This horrible scene of blood and carnage covering the land is difficult to even think about. And it was all caused by the wickedness of the people and their refusal to repent.  Ether 14: 20-27 "And they were divided; and a part of them fled to the army of Shiz, and a part of them fled to the army of Coriantumr. And so great and lasting had been the war, and so long had been the scene of bloodshed and carnage, that the whole face of the land was covered with the bodies of the dead. And so swift and speedy was the war that there was none left to bury the dead, but they did march forth from the shedding of blood to the shedding of blood, leaving the bodies of both men, women, and children strewed upon the face of the land, to become a prey to the worms of the flesh. And the scent thereof went forth upon the face of the land, even upon all the face of the land; wherefore the people became troubled by day and by night, because of the scent thereof. Nevertheless, Shiz did not cease to pursue Coriantumr; for he had sworn to avenge himself upon Coriantumr of the blood of his brother, who had been slain, and the word of the Lord which came to Ether that Coriantumr should not fall by the sword. And thus we see that the Lord did visit them in the fulness of his wrath, and their wickedness and abominations had prepared a way for their everlasting destruction. And it came to pass that Shiz did pursue Coriantumr eastward, even to the borders by the seashore, and there he gave battle unto Shiz for the space of three days. And so terrible was the destruction among the armies of Shiz that the people began to be frightened, and began to flee before the armies of Coriantumr; and they fled to the land of Corihor, and swept off the inhabitants before them, all them that would not join them."

Some scriiptures with a thought booklet remind us that the Lord doesn't want to bring evil to us, but has an expected end result in mind for us of peace. If we seek Him with all our hearts, we'll find Him. Sometimes we see only the short term results of trials in our lives, but we need to keep in mind the whole picture that God sees, and realize that our trials and tribulations can strengthen us and be for our good. Look for the good that can come from troubling situations. The thought that went with this gives an example of this. It's written by DeVonna R. Allison from Burr Oak, Michigan. She writes: "Look at that mess," I murmured as I viewed our storm revaged backyard. A violent windstorm had swept through during the night. In addition to many downed branches, a large shade tree had fallen and lay covering our entire backyard. My husband grinned. "Look at all that firewood!" he enthused. I was immediately struck by our differing viewpoints. Though we were both looking at the same scene, we had two very differing viewpoints. Though we were both looking at the same scene, we had two very different perspectives. Where I saw hours of cleanup work ahead, my husband pictured warm, cracking fires on cold winter nights. I was cheered up considerably by his point of view! When unpleasant circumstances enter our lives, we are often so focused on finding a solution that we are unable to recognize any benefits. The Bible is filled with reminders that the Lord has the ability--and the desire--to turn every one of life's challenges into an opportunity for personal growth. Let's ask God to help us seek His blessing in all our circumstances! Jer. 29: 11-14 "For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, saith the Lord, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you an expected end. Then shall ye call upon me, and ye shall go and pray unto me, and I will hearken unto you. And ye shall seek me, and find me, when ye shall search for me with all your heart. And I will be found of you, saith the Lord : and I will turn away your captivity, and I will gather you from all the nations, and from all the places whither I have driven you, saith the Lord; and I will bring you again into the place whence I caused you to be carried away captive."



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