No matter the obstacles we face in life, we can trust that Jesus Christ will prepare a way forward as we walk with faith. God has promised that all who live according to the covenants they have made with Him will, in His time, receive all His promised blessings. Elder Jeffrey R. Holland taught, “Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don’t come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come.
Elder Jorge M. Alvarado, "After the Trial of Our Faith", General Conference, October 2019
I know sometimes we don't feel like we are getting blessings, at least for me. Sometimes I feel like all is quiet, like heaven is so far away. Sometimes, I cry out "o God, where art thou? How long shall thy hand be stayed?"
I know that our prayers are heard. I know that. I trust that. But, answers to those prayers don't seem to come sometimes. I continue trusting that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are there listening to me even though I get no response.
I hear time and time again that my Father in Heaven answers prayers. He will not leave me. That He will not forsake me. So, why then, do I sometimes feel like this?
But.....is it really all quiet?
When I read this talk by Elder Alvarado, it hit me hard. I know all about this. I always have known. But, for whatever reason, it hit me hard this time. Heavenly Father DOES indeed hear and answer our petitions.
It is I who can't hear Him. It is I who have the ear plugs in, so it seems quiet. It is I that sometimes takes a step backwards after taking two steps forward. It is I who forsakes Him, not the other way around. I don't mean to. I don't want to. But, the natural, mortal being in me isn't perfected enough, far from it, to hear properly sometimes.
As we read above, we are promised that if we live according to our covenants, we receive ALL the blessings.
And as Elder Holland says here, some blessings come now, some come tomorrow, but some come after this life. But they do come. Am I putting myself in a position to receive them? Am I carrying my basket to collect them? Or, are they falling by the wayside?
