Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read that the Lord would sent famine, pestilence, the sword, and other punishments to the people because of their wickedness. Jer. 29: 17-19, 23 "Thus saith the Lord of hosts; Behold, I will send upon them the sword, the famine, and the pestilence, and will make them like vile figs, that cannot be eaten, they are so evil. And I will persecute them with the sword, with the famine, and with the pestilence, and will deliver them to be removed to all the kingdoms of the earth, to be a curse, and an astonishment, and an hissing, and a reproach, among all the nations whither I have driven them: Because they have not hearkened to my words, saith the Lord, which I sent unto them by my servants the prophets, rising up early and sending them; but ye would not hear, saith the Lord. Because they have committed villany in Israel, and have committed adultery with their neighbours' wives, and have spoken lying words in my name, which I have not commanded them; even I know, and am a witness, saith the Lord."

In the Book of Mormon I read a warning against those who love riches and the things that money can buy more than they love helping the poor and needy. If the Lord has blessed us with more than we need, do we spend our money on helping the poor, or do we go out and buy luxuries for ourselves? Do we turn a blind eye to the suffering of the needy while we adorn ourselves in fancy clothes? Morm. 8: 37, 39 "For behold, ye do love money, and your substance, and your fine apparel, and the adorning of your churches, more than ye love the poor and the needy, the sick and the afflicted. Why do ye adorn yourselves with that which hath no life, and yet suffer the hungry, and the needy, and the naked, and the sick and the afflicted to pass by you, and notice them not?"

Some scriptures with a thoght booklet remind us that the Lord's thoughts are higher than our thoughts and His ways higher than our ways. We need to trust the Lord even if we don't understand what He's asking us to do. Just like when we try to keep out beloved dog from running out into the street because we don't want him to get hit by a passing car--he doesn't understand why, but we've really got his best interests at heart. Letting him run loose would be very dangerous. Likewise if we "run loose" without regard to the commandments of God, it will prove very dangerous to us and not be for our best good. The "restraints" of keeping within what the Lord wants us to do will really be for our best good. And we need to trust that God knows best. Isa. 55: 8-9 "For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts."