Daily Thoughts

In the Old Testament I read about how Jeremiah prophesied evil things coming upon the people because of their wickedness. The people did not want to hear this so they convinced the king to cast Jeremiah into a miry dungeon. This has been the case with many prophets down through the ages. People did not want to hear what they had to say so they had them cast out or killed. Jer. 38: 1-6 "Then Shephatiah the son of Mattan, and Gedaliah the son of Pashur, and Jucal the son of Shelemiah, and Pashur the son of Malchiah, heard the words that Jeremiah had spoken unto all the people, saying, Thus saith the Lord , He that remaineth in this city shall die by the sword, by the famine, and by the pestilence: but he that goeth forth to the Chaldeans shall live; for he shall have his life for a prey, and shall live. Thus saith the Lord, This city shall surely be given into the hand of the king of Babylon's army, which shall take it. Therefore the princes said unto the king, We beseech thee, let this man be put to death: for thus he weakeneth the hands of the men of war that remain in this city, and the hands of all the people, in speaking such words unto them: for this man seeketh not the welfare of this people, but the hurt. Then Zedekiah the king said, Behold, he is in your hand: for the king is not he that can do any thing against you. Then took they Jeremiah, and cast him into the dungeon of Malchiah the son of Hammelech, that was in the court of the prison: and they let down Jeremiah with cords. And in the dungeon there was no water, but mire: so Jeremiah sunk in the mire."

In the Book of Mormon we read that prophets cried repentance unto the people but they refused to hearken unto them until the Lord sent a dearth into the land, and poisenous serpents--to the point that the people were about to perish. Then and only then were the people willing to humble themselves before the Lord and repent of their sins. Are we this stubborn? Do we need calamities to befall us before we're willing to turn to the Lord and do what's right? When things are going well for us do we still pray and turn to the Lord? Ether 9: 28-35 "And there came prophets in the land again, crying repentance unto them—that they must prepare the way of the Lord or there should come a curse upon the face of the land; yea, even there should be a great famine, in which they should be destroyed if they did not repent. But the people believed not the words of the prophets, but they cast them out; and some of them they cast into pits and left them to perish. And it came to pass that they did all these things according to the commandment of the king, Heth. And it came to pass that there began to be a great dearth upon the land, and the inhabitants began to be destroyed exceedingly fast because of the dearth, for there was no rain upon the face of the earth. And there came forth poisonous serpents also upon the face of the land, and did poison many people. And it came to pass that their flocks began to flee before the poisonous serpents, towards the land southward, which was called by the Nephites Zarahemla. And it came to pass that there were many of them which did perish by the way; nevertheless, there were some which fled into the land southward. And it came to pass that the Lord did cause the serpents that they should pursue them no more, but that they should hedge up the way that the people could not pass, that whoso should attempt to pass might fall by the poisonous serpents. And it came to pass that the people did follow the course of the beasts, and did devour the carcasses of them which fell by the way, until they had devoured them all. Now when the people saw that they must perish they began to repent of their iniquities and cry unto the Lord. And it came to pass that when they had humbled themselves sufficiently before the Lord he did send rain upon the face of the earth; and the people began to revive again, and there began to be fruit in the north countries, and in all the countries round about. And the Lord did show forth his power unto them in preserving them from famine."

Some verses with a thought booklet remind us that the Lord will give us strength when we're weary and increase our power when we're weak. When we feel faint and feel like we just can't continue anymore, the Lord will give us wings like the eagle. We just need to turn to Him. And I don't think this is just limited to physical strength, like you'd need to run a marathon. It also means spiritual and emotional strength. When you feel like you're at the end of your rope and just can't cope anymore with all the trials you're faced with, the Lord will strengthen you so you can continue on. And when you're faced with temptation or overcoming a weakness and feel like you just can't do what you know you need to do, the Lord will be there for you and help you do what you don't have the strength to do on your own. Turn to Him. Trust in Him. He'll help you run the race of life. Isa. 40: 28-31 "Hast thou not known? hast thou not heard, that the everlasting God, the Lord, the Creator of the ends of the earth, fainteth not, neither is weary? there is no searching of his understanding. He giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."



------------------------------------