Copyright © 1998
This article came about because of the June 1998 Visiting Teaching Message. The subject is one that is near and dear to my heart. Following the basic concepts faith in the Lord, obedience to His laws, and doing good works has changed my life for the better. I like who I am, so I am excited to share with you the steps and the changes you can make in your life to have a better one for yourself. This lesson is called:
If we want Christ to help us in our lives we need to follow the steps He has established for us to get His help. The first is to have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith that he wants to help us and will do so if given the opportunity. I say opportunity because we have our free agency or the right to make our own choices. You must also know that each choice has a corresponding result connected to it. When we make good choices we reap blessings. When we choose unwisely we are left with the repercussions of that choice which limits our ability to chose the next time. For example, if we choose our diet unwisely we limit our health and the activities we can engage in later.
If we must have faith in the Lord Jesus Christ to be able to get help, how can we get it? Faith grows as we learn about and believe in God's word. The word or the gospel found in the scriptures are a template to base our live on. As we understand the gospel, change our lives to be in harmony with it, and become actively engaged in doing good works, then our knowledge grows and so does our faith in the gospel or God's word. This is because we can see and feel the good it is doing in our lives and in the lives of others.
As we strive to understand and live the gospel, then the Lord enlightens our understanding of each aspect. So we begin to understand the concepts more fully. We also come to have a personal relationship with God as we invite Him into our lives and make Him a part of our everyday living instead of a God that we put up on a pedestal and dust Him off to use on Sunday.
How can we have a working relationship with our God? As we try to become perfect or to bring our lives in tune with the gospel, we will begin to consult the Lord throughout our day. Soon it becomes a regular silent dialogue with Him. You begin by choose your activities for the day and do those activities with Him throughout the day.
So when can a person expect to have a close relationship with God? The moment you start to try to live the gospel by asking for help to doing so, your relationship begins to grow. It continues to grow until you have made a close friend of God.
God does not expect you to be perfect before He will bring you close to Him. He wants to be part of that solution. He does expect you to put your best foot forward. What does that mean. Do you have to be trying to be perfect in all things at once? Really, who can change every facet of their live instantly? Start with a few things. Become perfected in those things by setting goals, laying good supporting steps to reach the goal, then work the goal as you ask the Father's help in doing so. If you do this I promise you that you will succeed.
Where should you start? Usually there are a handful of things that continually trip us up. Sometimes they seen so insurmountable that we hardly know what to do with them. Usually we feel that they will plague us forever and they will if we keep harboring them. These are the ones that need changing first. They are also the ones that we will need the Lord help with the most. As a result, as we draw close to Him for help and He has promised that He will draw closer to us and He does. As a result of wiping out the major awful things in our lives, one at a time, several other smaller problems are eliminated and our lives become far richer than you can ever dream of.
I hope this does not sound like your life will be peaches and cream from that point on. This is not so. We are here to be tested. Life will bring us sore trials. The Lord promises to help strengthen us to be able to come out the conquer. The Lord wants capable strong people so He will not take away the trials but will help us endure and help us get through it. As you look back on these trials you will see where He not only held your hand and lead you through to safety, but in some cases He actually carried you through.
As we continue to try to become perfected individuals, the Lord Jesus Christ, as the Second Comforter, begins to guide our daily lives. No longer are choices gray. The Lord helps us to see their ramifications in our present condition and for our future. This is a very beneficial relationship for each of us all the way around. As the Lord helps us through our trials and our decisions, He keeps us company as a sweet, kind, and gentle friend. It is He who ultimately guides us back into our Heavenly Father's presents if we will allow this relationship to grow and develop.
I hope this does not sound like only the prophet and the apostles get to have these blessings, because this is not so. Test it out and see.
1. Prayerfully set a goal, and the steps to reach it.
2. Do it.
3. Pray again for the Lord help in reaching it.
4. Silently pray throughout the day.
Do not wait for nightfall to report in your progress. Pray throughout the day, especially when the going gets tough, especially when you have slipped again. Be determined. Cry to the Lord for His help. Then, pick yourself up and try again. Continue to do so until you have won. Then, thank the Lord for His help.
In the meanwhile invite the Lord to go for a walk with you. Silently think to Him your thoughts of what you see. I happen to know for certain that he loves sunrises, sunsets, looking for patterns in the clouds, and other beautiful and happy things we can enjoy in this life.
I hope you will take my challenge to make the Lord your friend and become a better person at the same time.