May 16, 2024 • 31 mins
In this episode I share another story from my childhood and what it taught me about finding solace in Christ. When we don't realize our worth we often fill that void with the wrong things. It can lead to weakness that feels impossible to overcome. Let me share with you the beautiful promises and insights on change that I found in a surprising place. I hope it gives you courage, as it did for me, to finally tackle overwhelming weakness.
00:00 Opening and Introduction to Change
00:30 A Childhood Lesson in Choices and Consequences
02:52 Finding Solace in the Wrong Places
05:27 The Power of Weakness and the Path to Change
10:15 Discovering Hope and Direction in Scripture
11:50 Building the Temple Within: Lessons from Haggai
17:52 Embracing God's Way for True Change
21:31 The Promises of God and the Journey Ahead
27:34 Reflections and Closing Thoughts
30:40 Sponsor Message and Gratitude
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
(00:00):
President Nelson said, Indeed,the precise challenge you regard
now as impossible may be thevery refinement you need in his
eye.
With men, this is impossible.
But with God, all things arepossible.
Welcome to the Hope SmilingBrightly podcast.
(00:22):
You are listening to episodefive, achieving change that
feels impossible.
When I was a little girl, I wasa flower child in every sense of
the word.
I especially loved being out innature.
I loved picking flowers.
(00:44):
One day on my way home fromschool, I came across a bunch of
tulips just randomly growing infront of a house.
And so what did I do?
I picked every single one, ofcourse.
Though when I brought them hometo my mom, I was a little
confused at her response.
She wasn't excited.
(01:04):
With a worried look, she askedme where I had gotten them, and
I explained to her that theyjust happened to randomly be
growing in front of ourneighbor's home.
She explained to me why Icouldn't pick those flowers, but
had to hurry out the door to runerrands.
My brothers took this as theperfect opportunity to stage a
(01:26):
phone call from the police, theculprit of flower theft.
I spent the rest of the eveninghiding in my room, sure that I
was going to jail.
After that, I was much morecareful about the flowers I
chose to pick.
Well, when we moved out into themountains and had no neighbors
(01:48):
at all, I was confident I couldpick any flower I wanted.
And I quickly learned everysingle flower in our valley.
So it was really exciting whenone day I came across a hidden
valley of flowers I had neverseen before.
(02:10):
With excitement, I picked everysingle one that I could,
confident that my mom would beexcited about this bouquet, and
ran home.
You can imagine my dismay whenagain, my mom reacted.
in disappointment and distress.
(02:30):
She quickly asked me where I hadgotten those flowers.
And again, I explained to herthey were just growing.
I didn't see what the problemwas.
My mom explained to me that yes,I had picked some pretty
flowers, but they happen to alsobe illegal flowers.
(02:52):
You see, my parents often triedto help their hippie friends who
weren't able to overcome theiraddictions as my parents had.
And one of their friends wasliving with us as he had just
gotten out of jail for drug use.
And he decided to grow some ofhis own marijuana.
(03:17):
You know, I'm kind of surprisedmy brothers didn't take that
opportunity to convince me thepolice were coming to get me, it
would have been a lot morebelievable.
But honestly, as I look back atthis experience, I remember
feeling sadness and compassionfor this loved son of God.
Sad that he wasn't able toovercome the things that he
(03:42):
chose to find solace in.
As a little girl, I may havejudged him like, why would you
give up so much for this plant?
It didn't make sense to me.
I understand now that we allhave those weaknesses.
Instead of finding solace inChrist, we turn to food m
(04:06):
material things, shopping,social media, whatever it may be
to find solace.
Especially when we don'tunderstand our worth, we seek to
fill that void with the wrongthings.
Much of what binds us is aresult of seeking solace in the
(04:27):
wrong place.
The hard experiences we have inlife create voids within us that
we try to fill, but part of lifeis learning how to fill every
single void with Christ.
Often we try to muscle through,we focus on our weaknesses, the
(04:50):
habit we want to stop.
When we do this, we will findourselves back at what feels
like square one over and overagain, that discouraging place
where we criticize ourselves forlack of self control.
That place where we feel like,what is the point of even
trying?
I'm never gonna overcome thisweakness.
(05:12):
Maybe we even feel angry towardsGod for not helping us.
Doesn't he want us to overcomethis vice?
We feel that it's impossible andit feels exhausting.
But President Nelson said, theprecise challenge you regard now
(05:33):
as impossible may be the veryrefinement you need in his eyes.
With men, this is impossible,but with God, all things are
possible.
To teach his people, the Lordemploys the unlikely.
Close quote.
(05:53):
The unlikely teacher is weaknessand the joy of progress, we can
be grateful for weakness becauseit is the unlikely but most
powerful teacher.
Really, it is our nature tothrive on that type of
(06:14):
progression that requires us tolearn and stretch beyond what we
are currently able to do.
I am sure that you can rememberas a child, or you've witnessed
a child who wants to doeverything on their own.
Tie their shoes, zip up theirjacket, buckle the seatbelt.
(06:35):
Because from a young age, wewant to overcome these things
ourselves.
But at some point, we have tolearn to ask for help.
The whole point of this life isto have weakness and learn to
accept help and overcome themthrough Jesus Christ.
(06:56):
We are supposed to struggle andnot be strong enough to overcome
them on our own.
We need to need Christ.
So we know that Satan wanted totake away our agency, but what
he really wanted was to takeaway our need for a savior.
(07:20):
Do we find ourselves asking forthe same thing Satan wanted
saying, Lord, just take thisweakness away from me, take away
my agency to make the wrongchoice, the right choice.
Just take it away.
Rather than submitting to thebeautiful process of overcoming
(07:42):
the natural man, gaining thestrength and ability to use our
agency for good.
Or maybe we wish for or demandperfection of ourselves, which
would also completely cut theSavior out of the equation.
Why a Savior when we could beperfect on our own?
(08:04):
Being imperfect, havingimpossible weakness, Is the
whole point of this life, andyet we think God is disappointed
in us if we are weak, if we makemistakes.
No way.
We are the ones who imposeridiculous deadlines and
(08:26):
expectations.
He just wants us to come to Himdaily and repent.
He wouldn't ask us to forgive 70times seven if he wasn't willing
to offer limitless forgivenessas well.
President Nelson said, yourprayerful access to help is just
(08:48):
as real as when David battledhis Goliath, close quote.
So what is your Goliath?
Mine?, perfectionism, and selfdoubt.
It was when I found myself in amoment of hopelessness,
(09:08):
overwhelmed by the amount ofweakness I had to work through,
finding myself on my knees forwhat felt like the kajillionth
time asking for forgiveness forthe same thing, that I finally
received an answer.
I had tried years of therapycoaching, searching for every
(09:30):
self help program and answer.
Reminding myself every day ofall the things I should be doing
and suffering from debilitatinganxiety and insomnia.
Wondering if change was evenpossible.
Maybe this is just who I am.
Is the promise of change real oris it just something to keep us
(09:53):
hoping?
Maybe it would be easier to juststop trying.
These were the thoughts in mymind.
I was praying and trying to findanswers and direction, but
feeling like I was failing ateverything.
I wanted to move past thingsthat were paralyzing my
progression, once and for all.
(10:15):
With a frustrated but desperatereach, I threw open my Bible,
and accidentally, opened to abook I had never done an in
depth study of.
And that is where the Lord gaveme a beautiful promise and
answer.
The messages from those versesremained as a screensaver on
(10:40):
every device I had for years.
It's a short book of scripturefor anyone who has ever desired
change and progress in theirlives.
This unexpected answer wasactually from an unexpected guy.
Haggai, to be exact.
When I landed on Haggai, myfirst thought was, oh well, that
(11:03):
didn't work.
I had read the book before.
It's just two short chapterstelling people to build a
temple.
And who is Haggai anyhow, andhow do you even say his name?
Is it like Hag eye or Hey guy?
Let me tell you though.
When you start seeing thesymbolic message in his words.
(11:23):
This Haggai is pretty amazing.
He is now one of my favorites ofthe Old Testament, and maybe
after this, he'll be yourfavorite too.
The Lord gives some of the moststunning instruction and
promises on change I have everread, but you might not see it
at first glance.
You can read it as the Lordinstructing a lazy people to get
(11:46):
busy, start building a temple.
That's nice.
But here's where the beautyunfolds.
Read it as the Lord instructingand encouraging you to build up
the temple, he envisions thetemple being you, it completely
(12:06):
changes the meaning and message.
So are you ready for it?
Remember, anytime you hear theword house or temple, it's
referring to you as a person.
You are what the Lord wants tobuild up.
So the Lord has just asked hispeople to build a temple.
(12:27):
And in verse two, we see theiranswer.
And I think we all have giventhis answer before.
We've fallen into this trap.
When it comes to change, youfind yourself saying the time
has not come that the Lord'shouse should be built.
You put off change orconstruction because you fear
how hard it will be, or doubt ifit's even possible.
(12:51):
You don't believe the Lord willchange you now.
I guess it will have to happenlater because I'm not strong
enough.
Or maybe you're in a place ofcarnal security.
But what is the Lord's response?
We find it in verse four.
What time is it then?
Is it time for you to dwell inyour current house that you have
(13:13):
built in your own strength, inyour own way, and let the house
you could be living in lie inwaste?
Come on, you are living in thewrong house.
It is time for more.
So what is the first thing weneed to do?
In verses five through seven,consider your ways.
(13:38):
Be real about what you are doingand the results it is bringing.
You've sown much and bring inlittle.
You eat and drink, but aren'tfull.
You are clothed, but still cold.
You earn wages but put it into abag with holes.
(13:59):
It reminds me of Isaiah 9:20 andhe shall snatch on the right
hand and be hungry, and he shalleat on the left hand and they
shall not be satisfied.
They shall eat every man theflesh of his own arm.
Are we depending on our ownstrength and wisdom without even
realizing it, if we are seekingsolace in answers from worldly
(14:23):
sources?
However satisfying it is for atime in the end, it will only
leave us wanting.
So are you doing things your wayor God's way?
Are you like that stubborn childthat won't accept help because
you want to do it all yourself?
(14:43):
It takes great humility andsubmission.
I remember when I was aboutthree years old, I was
determined to get my churchdress off the hanger in the
closet all by myself.
Of course, I was way too short,but I didn't care.
I remember stacking shoes on topof each other and trying to
(15:03):
stand on top of the shoes andreach, reach, reach for that
dress.
But no matter how hard I tried,I just couldn't get the dress
down.
And instead of asking for help,I just laid on the closet floor
and cried.
Do we do something similar asadults w hen God is right there
to help us?
Consider your ways.
(15:28):
What are your limiting thoughtsand beliefs that are holding you
back?
What are you doing over and overagain that you think is working,
but it actually isn't?
What's that famous saying?
Insanity is doing the same thingover and over again and
expecting different results.
Have you honestly looked at yourresults?
(15:51):
They probably aren't as great asthey could be or as we think
they are.
Be willing to change your waysto the Lord's ways.
To consider also means tomeditate.
This is going to take someserious pondering and thought
meditation to really figure outwhat we are doing that just
(16:13):
isn't working.
But when we choose God, we willbe able to hear him say, ye
shall know that I, the Lord amGod, and that I, the Lord did
deliver you from destruction.
1 Nephi 17:14.
And you will also know that itwas not you, but God that had
(16:34):
delivered you out of bondage,for you were in bondage and none
could deliver you except it werethe Lord your God, Mosiah 24:21.
So what do we need to do?
Verse eight, go up to themountain, or, the holy places of
the Lord and bring wood andbuild a house and I will take
(16:54):
pleasure in it and be glorifiedor in other words, go up and
start working in my ways and Iwill take pleasure in seeing you
grow and I will be glorifiedbecause of what you will
accomplish glorified because Ihelped you accomplish it
Remember, we are his work andglory.
(17:17):
In verse nine, he says, you'velooked for much and it has come
to little.
Because you did it with your ownpower.
God is eager and waiting to helpus build.
Verse 11.
A drought will come upon all thelabor of your hands.
Stop trying to do things yourway.
(17:38):
Finding solace in anything otherthan Christ is not going to
work.
You need the Lord first andforemost.
So how do we do things in theLord's way?
Well, here are three steps for astart that are revealed in
verses 12 through 14.
(17:59):
First, obey the voice of theLord your God.
To be able to obey his voice, wehave to seek it in the first
place.
What wisdom President Nelsongave us to increase our ability
to receive personal revelationHe has emphasized how important
(18:20):
this is over and over again, wehave got to learn to hear him.
Number two, trust that he iswith you.
As I've talked about in pastepisodes, trust comes as we
learn the true nature of God.
(18:40):
Number three, do the work in thehouse of the Lord.
God loves our personal efforts,however small, and he will more
than match it.
And here's the best part.
In chapter two comes all thebeautiful promises and
encouragement if we will dothis.
(19:01):
Verse three, who is left amongyou that saw this house in her
first glory?
And how do you see it now?
Is it not in your eyes incomparison of it as nothing?
So basically he's saying,whoever saw this temple when it
was first built might be saying,wow, it's nothing now.
(19:22):
And feeling a littlediscouraged.
It's normal to feeldiscouragement in the first part
of a journey and throughout it.
And it's often because ofcomparison.
Comparing to a younger self orpast circumstance when things
used to be better.
Comparing to what could havebeen if things had gone
(19:44):
differently.
Wishing we could go back andchange things.
Or comparing to others andwishing we had made the choices
they did.
Not helpful.
But here's what is.
Notice where you are right now,because you are going to be
amazed at what God does withyou.
(20:06):
In verse four, be strong, work,for I am with you.
Do we understand this power wehave in the Goliaths that we
fight?
Just like David, we havesomething better than physical
armor to fight our battles.
(20:27):
You have your loins girt aboutwith truth, having on the
breastplate of righteousness,and your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel ofpeace, which I have sent my
angels to commit unto you,taking the shield of faith
wherewith ye shall be able toquench all the fiery darts of
(20:48):
the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvationand the sword of my spirit,
which I pour out upon you in myword, which I reveal unto you,
D&C 27:16-18.
In verse five, I covenanted withyou, my spirit remaineth among
(21:08):
you, fear ye not.
The more you come to know God,to trust him, the less you will
fear.
In verse six, God explains thelast days are near and these
promises and power areespecially needed.
That is why he's encouraging usand helping us now.
(21:31):
Verse seven, I will fill thishouse with glory.
Do you see that?
Feel that?
He wants to fill you with hisglory.
Verse 8.
The silver is mine.
The gold is mine.
He's saying true riches, richesthat truly satisfy, can only be
(21:53):
given by God.
But do we prefer or love thewages of unrighteousness more,
as the Apostle Peter asked?
What might some of those wagesbe?
And then in verse nine is myfavorite promise, the glory of
the latter house shall begreater than of the former.
(22:15):
And in this place, will, I givepeace.
Is that not what all of us areseeking?
This beautiful peace.
It doesn't matter where you areright now.
God has the power to takeanything and through your
(22:36):
weakness, through your trials.
He will make you greater thanbefore, Verse 19.
From this day, I will bless you.
So what day is that?
Well, you get to decide.
It's the day you choose to giveGod's strength and ways a try.
(23:02):
Verses 15 through 17, considerfrom this day on before a stone
was laid upon a stone in thetemple of the Lord, remember
what it was like before youdecided to let the Lord build
you up and the days before whenyou forgot to turn to me and
labored without me, you would dowork and expect results, but you
(23:23):
would only get half of what youhoped for.
And I love this, and I want youto feel this for yourself in
verse 18, consider now from thisday and upward from the four and
20th day of the ninth month,even from the day that the
foundation of the Lord's templewas laid, consider it.
(23:44):
Can you hear these words foryourself from this day, from
this month in this year?
Let it be today.
Let this turning point be today.
It is your choice.
And that foundation that we aregoing to start building on is
the rock of our Redeemer.
(24:06):
In verse 19, he explains howeverything's going to change
now.
You are going to get fruitfulresults from everything you do
in Christ.
From this day, will I bless you.
Everything you tried before anddidn't get the results you hoped
for, with me, those results willbe quadrupled.
(24:26):
In verses 20-22, he talks aboutovercoming kingdoms and enemies.
He can also overthrow anddestroy the enemies within you.
Why?
Verse 23.
For I have chosen You, do youfeel that This promise is to
(24:50):
you, my friend, don't everforget it today is the day you
have been chosen to do animportant work and the Lord will
help you.
It will change you.
It will bring blessings intoyour life that you have never
even imagined for yourself.
Put it on your screensaver, putit on your wall, put it in your
(25:12):
heart, put it to work.
It is time.
As you begin this journey,there's a couple other verses of
scripture that refer to thebuilding of temples that I think
are also helpful.
The first one in D& C 95 verses11 through 14.
Verily I say unto you, it is mywill that you should build up a
(25:35):
house.
Remember the house is you.
If you keep my commandments, Youshall have power to build it.
Now here is wisdom and the mindof the Lord.
Let the house be built, notafter the manner of the world.
For I give not unto you that yeshall live after the manner of
(25:55):
the world.
Therefore, let it be built afterthe manner which I shall show
you.
This is key here.
Letting God show you His way andHis pattern.
But let a house be built unto myname, according to the pattern
which I will show unto you.
(26:18):
That's D& C 115.
14.
And then look at these beautifulblessings that will enter this
house in D& C 109.
Establish a house.
Even a house of prayer, a houseof fasting, a house of faith, a
house of learning, a house ofglory, a house of order, a house
(26:40):
of God.
That house can be you.
That God's glory may rest downupon this, thy house, which we
now dedicate to thee, that itmay be sanctified and
consecrated to be holy, and thatthy holy presence may be
(27:01):
continually in this house, andthat all people who shall enter
upon the threshold of the Lord'shouse may feel thy power and
feel constrained to acknowledgethat thou hast sanctified it.
And that it is a, thy house, aplace of holiness, such
(27:23):
beautiful change will come intoyour life, that people around
you will not be able to help,but recognize it and acknowledge
it.
So after these insights andexperience that I had, I was
excited, but a little at a lossbecause I stubbornly, but
(27:45):
sincerely thought I was alreadydoing things in God's way.
So the first question I askedis, what way is mine that I need
to give up, and what way isyours that I can replace it
with?
As I pondered, the thought cameto my mind that the thing I had
(28:06):
always done was live from aspace of unworthiness and not
enoughness.
My motivation for action camefrom hope that I would someday
be good enough for God andeveryone else.
This angle never works becauseno matter what, in your mind you
(28:28):
can never do enough.
You end up exhausted and seekingsolace in the wrong things
because you don't feel worthy tofind solace in Christ.
Then the thought came to me,what if God's way, what if the
new thing was believing in whatan amazing child of God I
already was and that I had agreat work that God would help
(28:53):
me do.
Motivation from that space istruth and it is so much better.
Everyone will have a differentanswer and path, but whatever it
is, it's going to take patienceand persistence, but it will
lead to real progress.
(29:14):
Minnie Louise Haskins wrote, AndI said to the man who stood at
the gate of the year, Give me alight that I may tread safely
into the unknown.
And he replied, Go out into thedarkness and put your hand into
the hand of God.
That shall be to you better thanlight and safer than a known
(29:38):
way.
So I went forth, and finding thehand of God, trod gladly into
the night.
And he led me toward the hillsand the breaking of day in the
lone east.
You are promised to be shown away that is even better than
(29:58):
what has always felt familiarand safe to you.
So the question to ask of Godthat I offer to you this week
is, what way is mine that I needto give up?
What way is yours that I canreplace it with?
Heavenly Father will answer.
(30:21):
From this day, He will blessyou.
He has chosen you.
Christ is change, evenimpossible change.
Christ is hope, smilingbrightly.
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President Nelson said, Indeed,the precise challenge you regard
now as impossible may be thevery refinement you need in his
eye.
With men, this is impossible.
But with God, all things arepossible.
Welcome to the Hope SmilingBrightly podcast.
(00:22):
You are listening to episodefive, achieving change that
feels impossible.
When I was a little girl, I wasa flower child in every sense of
the word.
I especially loved being out innature.
I loved picking flowers.
(00:44):
One day on my way home fromschool, I came across a bunch of
tulips just randomly growing infront of a house.
And so what did I do?
I picked every single one, ofcourse.
Though when I brought them hometo my mom, I was a little
confused at her response.
She wasn't excited.
(01:04):
With a worried look, she askedme where I had gotten them, and
I explained to her that theyjust happened to randomly be
growing in front of ourneighbor's home.
She explained to me why Icouldn't pick those flowers, but
had to hurry out the door to runerrands.
My brothers took this as theperfect opportunity to stage a
(01:26):
phone call from the police, theculprit of flower theft.
I spent the rest of the eveninghiding in my room, sure that I
was going to jail.
After that, I was much morecareful about the flowers I
chose to pick.
Well, when we moved out into themountains and had no neighbors
(01:48):
at all, I was confident I couldpick any flower I wanted.
And I quickly learned everysingle flower in our valley.
So it was really exciting whenone day I came across a hidden
valley of flowers I had neverseen before.
(02:10):
With excitement, I picked everysingle one that I could,
confident that my mom would beexcited about this bouquet, and
ran home.
You can imagine my dismay whenagain, my mom reacted.
in disappointment and distress.
(02:30):
She quickly asked me where I hadgotten those flowers.
And again, I explained to herthey were just growing.
I didn't see what the problemwas.
My mom explained to me that yes,I had picked some pretty
flowers, but they happen to alsobe illegal flowers.
(02:52):
You see, my parents often triedto help their hippie friends who
weren't able to overcome theiraddictions as my parents had.
And one of their friends wasliving with us as he had just
gotten out of jail for drug use.
And he decided to grow some ofhis own marijuana.
(03:17):
You know, I'm kind of surprisedmy brothers didn't take that
opportunity to convince me thepolice were coming to get me, it
would have been a lot morebelievable.
But honestly, as I look back atthis experience, I remember
feeling sadness and compassionfor this loved son of God.
Sad that he wasn't able toovercome the things that he
(03:42):
chose to find solace in.
As a little girl, I may havejudged him like, why would you
give up so much for this plant?
It didn't make sense to me.
I understand now that we allhave those weaknesses.
Instead of finding solace inChrist, we turn to food m
(04:06):
material things, shopping,social media, whatever it may be
to find solace.
Especially when we don'tunderstand our worth, we seek to
fill that void with the wrongthings.
Much of what binds us is aresult of seeking solace in the
(04:27):
wrong place.
The hard experiences we have inlife create voids within us that
we try to fill, but part of lifeis learning how to fill every
single void with Christ.
Often we try to muscle through,we focus on our weaknesses, the
(04:50):
habit we want to stop.
When we do this, we will findourselves back at what feels
like square one over and overagain, that discouraging place
where we criticize ourselves forlack of self control.
That place where we feel like,what is the point of even
trying?
I'm never gonna overcome thisweakness.
(05:12):
Maybe we even feel angry towardsGod for not helping us.
Doesn't he want us to overcomethis vice?
We feel that it's impossible andit feels exhausting.
But President Nelson said, theprecise challenge you regard now
(05:33):
as impossible may be the veryrefinement you need in his eyes.
With men, this is impossible,but with God, all things are
possible.
To teach his people, the Lordemploys the unlikely.
Close quote.
(05:53):
The unlikely teacher is weaknessand the joy of progress, we can
be grateful for weakness becauseit is the unlikely but most
powerful teacher.
Really, it is our nature tothrive on that type of
(06:14):
progression that requires us tolearn and stretch beyond what we
are currently able to do.
I am sure that you can rememberas a child, or you've witnessed
a child who wants to doeverything on their own.
Tie their shoes, zip up theirjacket, buckle the seatbelt.
(06:35):
Because from a young age, wewant to overcome these things
ourselves.
But at some point, we have tolearn to ask for help.
The whole point of this life isto have weakness and learn to
accept help and overcome themthrough Jesus Christ.
(06:56):
We are supposed to struggle andnot be strong enough to overcome
them on our own.
We need to need Christ.
So we know that Satan wanted totake away our agency, but what
he really wanted was to takeaway our need for a savior.
(07:20):
Do we find ourselves asking forthe same thing Satan wanted
saying, Lord, just take thisweakness away from me, take away
my agency to make the wrongchoice, the right choice.
Just take it away.
Rather than submitting to thebeautiful process of overcoming
(07:42):
the natural man, gaining thestrength and ability to use our
agency for good.
Or maybe we wish for or demandperfection of ourselves, which
would also completely cut theSavior out of the equation.
Why a Savior when we could beperfect on our own?
(08:04):
Being imperfect, havingimpossible weakness, Is the
whole point of this life, andyet we think God is disappointed
in us if we are weak, if we makemistakes.
No way.
We are the ones who imposeridiculous deadlines and
(08:26):
expectations.
He just wants us to come to Himdaily and repent.
He wouldn't ask us to forgive 70times seven if he wasn't willing
to offer limitless forgivenessas well.
President Nelson said, yourprayerful access to help is just
(08:48):
as real as when David battledhis Goliath, close quote.
So what is your Goliath?
Mine?, perfectionism, and selfdoubt.
It was when I found myself in amoment of hopelessness,
(09:08):
overwhelmed by the amount ofweakness I had to work through,
finding myself on my knees forwhat felt like the kajillionth
time asking for forgiveness forthe same thing, that I finally
received an answer.
I had tried years of therapycoaching, searching for every
(09:30):
self help program and answer.
Reminding myself every day ofall the things I should be doing
and suffering from debilitatinganxiety and insomnia.
Wondering if change was evenpossible.
Maybe this is just who I am.
Is the promise of change real oris it just something to keep us
(09:53):
hoping?
Maybe it would be easier to juststop trying.
These were the thoughts in mymind.
I was praying and trying to findanswers and direction, but
feeling like I was failing ateverything.
I wanted to move past thingsthat were paralyzing my
progression, once and for all.
(10:15):
With a frustrated but desperatereach, I threw open my Bible,
and accidentally, opened to abook I had never done an in
depth study of.
And that is where the Lord gaveme a beautiful promise and
answer.
The messages from those versesremained as a screensaver on
(10:40):
every device I had for years.
It's a short book of scripturefor anyone who has ever desired
change and progress in theirlives.
This unexpected answer wasactually from an unexpected guy.
Haggai, to be exact.
When I landed on Haggai, myfirst thought was, oh well, that
(11:03):
didn't work.
I had read the book before.
It's just two short chapterstelling people to build a
temple.
And who is Haggai anyhow, andhow do you even say his name?
Is it like Hag eye or Hey guy?
Let me tell you though.
When you start seeing thesymbolic message in his words.
(11:23):
This Haggai is pretty amazing.
He is now one of my favorites ofthe Old Testament, and maybe
after this, he'll be yourfavorite too.
The Lord gives some of the moststunning instruction and
promises on change I have everread, but you might not see it
at first glance.
You can read it as the Lordinstructing a lazy people to get
(11:46):
busy, start building a temple.
That's nice.
But here's where the beautyunfolds.
Read it as the Lord instructingand encouraging you to build up
the temple, he envisions thetemple being you, it completely
(12:06):
changes the meaning and message.
So are you ready for it?
Remember, anytime you hear theword house or temple, it's
referring to you as a person.
You are what the Lord wants tobuild up.
So the Lord has just asked hispeople to build a temple.
(12:27):
And in verse two, we see theiranswer.
And I think we all have giventhis answer before.
We've fallen into this trap.
When it comes to change, youfind yourself saying the time
has not come that the Lord'shouse should be built.
You put off change orconstruction because you fear
how hard it will be, or doubt ifit's even possible.
(12:51):
You don't believe the Lord willchange you now.
I guess it will have to happenlater because I'm not strong
enough.
Or maybe you're in a place ofcarnal security.
But what is the Lord's response?
We find it in verse four.
What time is it then?
Is it time for you to dwell inyour current house that you have
(13:13):
built in your own strength, inyour own way, and let the house
you could be living in lie inwaste?
Come on, you are living in thewrong house.
It is time for more.
So what is the first thing weneed to do?
In verses five through seven,consider your ways.
(13:38):
Be real about what you are doingand the results it is bringing.
You've sown much and bring inlittle.
You eat and drink, but aren'tfull.
You are clothed, but still cold.
You earn wages but put it into abag with holes.
(13:59):
It reminds me of Isaiah 9:20 andhe shall snatch on the right
hand and be hungry, and he shalleat on the left hand and they
shall not be satisfied.
They shall eat every man theflesh of his own arm.
Are we depending on our ownstrength and wisdom without even
realizing it, if we are seekingsolace in answers from worldly
(14:23):
sources?
However satisfying it is for atime in the end, it will only
leave us wanting.
So are you doing things your wayor God's way?
Are you like that stubborn childthat won't accept help because
you want to do it all yourself?
(14:43):
It takes great humility andsubmission.
I remember when I was aboutthree years old, I was
determined to get my churchdress off the hanger in the
closet all by myself.
Of course, I was way too short,but I didn't care.
I remember stacking shoes on topof each other and trying to
(15:03):
stand on top of the shoes andreach, reach, reach for that
dress.
But no matter how hard I tried,I just couldn't get the dress
down.
And instead of asking for help,I just laid on the closet floor
and cried.
Do we do something similar asadults w hen God is right there
to help us?
Consider your ways.
(15:28):
What are your limiting thoughtsand beliefs that are holding you
back?
What are you doing over and overagain that you think is working,
but it actually isn't?
What's that famous saying?
Insanity is doing the same thingover and over again and
expecting different results.
Have you honestly looked at yourresults?
(15:51):
They probably aren't as great asthey could be or as we think
they are.
Be willing to change your waysto the Lord's ways.
To consider also means tomeditate.
This is going to take someserious pondering and thought
meditation to really figure outwhat we are doing that just
(16:13):
isn't working.
But when we choose God, we willbe able to hear him say, ye
shall know that I, the Lord amGod, and that I, the Lord did
deliver you from destruction.
1 Nephi 17:14.
And you will also know that itwas not you, but God that had
(16:34):
delivered you out of bondage,for you were in bondage and none
could deliver you except it werethe Lord your God, Mosiah 24:21.
So what do we need to do?
Verse eight, go up to themountain, or, the holy places of
the Lord and bring wood andbuild a house and I will take
(16:54):
pleasure in it and be glorifiedor in other words, go up and
start working in my ways and Iwill take pleasure in seeing you
grow and I will be glorifiedbecause of what you will
accomplish glorified because Ihelped you accomplish it
Remember, we are his work andglory.
(17:17):
In verse nine, he says, you'velooked for much and it has come
to little.
Because you did it with your ownpower.
God is eager and waiting to helpus build.
Verse 11.
A drought will come upon all thelabor of your hands.
Stop trying to do things yourway.
(17:38):
Finding solace in anything otherthan Christ is not going to
work.
You need the Lord first andforemost.
So how do we do things in theLord's way?
Well, here are three steps for astart that are revealed in
verses 12 through 14.
(17:59):
First, obey the voice of theLord your God.
To be able to obey his voice, wehave to seek it in the first
place.
What wisdom President Nelsongave us to increase our ability
to receive personal revelationHe has emphasized how important
(18:20):
this is over and over again, wehave got to learn to hear him.
Number two, trust that he iswith you.
As I've talked about in pastepisodes, trust comes as we
learn the true nature of God.
(18:40):
Number three, do the work in thehouse of the Lord.
God loves our personal efforts,however small, and he will more
than match it.
And here's the best part.
In chapter two comes all thebeautiful promises and
encouragement if we will dothis.
(19:01):
Verse three, who is left amongyou that saw this house in her
first glory?
And how do you see it now?
Is it not in your eyes incomparison of it as nothing?
So basically he's saying,whoever saw this temple when it
was first built might be saying,wow, it's nothing now.
(19:22):
And feeling a littlediscouraged.
It's normal to feeldiscouragement in the first part
of a journey and throughout it.
And it's often because ofcomparison.
Comparing to a younger self orpast circumstance when things
used to be better.
Comparing to what could havebeen if things had gone
(19:44):
differently.
Wishing we could go back andchange things.
Or comparing to others andwishing we had made the choices
they did.
Not helpful.
But here's what is.
Notice where you are right now,because you are going to be
amazed at what God does withyou.
(20:06):
In verse four, be strong, work,for I am with you.
Do we understand this power wehave in the Goliaths that we
fight?
Just like David, we havesomething better than physical
armor to fight our battles.
(20:27):
You have your loins girt aboutwith truth, having on the
breastplate of righteousness,and your feet shod with the
preparation of the gospel ofpeace, which I have sent my
angels to commit unto you,taking the shield of faith
wherewith ye shall be able toquench all the fiery darts of
(20:48):
the wicked.
And take the helmet of salvationand the sword of my spirit,
which I pour out upon you in myword, which I reveal unto you,
D&C 27:16-18.
In verse five, I covenanted withyou, my spirit remaineth among
(21:08):
you, fear ye not.
The more you come to know God,to trust him, the less you will
fear.
In verse six, God explains thelast days are near and these
promises and power areespecially needed.
That is why he's encouraging usand helping us now.
(21:31):
Verse seven, I will fill thishouse with glory.
Do you see that?
Feel that?
He wants to fill you with hisglory.
Verse 8.
The silver is mine.
The gold is mine.
He's saying true riches, richesthat truly satisfy, can only be
(21:53):
given by God.
But do we prefer or love thewages of unrighteousness more,
as the Apostle Peter asked?
What might some of those wagesbe?
And then in verse nine is myfavorite promise, the glory of
the latter house shall begreater than of the former.
(22:15):
And in this place, will, I givepeace.
Is that not what all of us areseeking?
This beautiful peace.
It doesn't matter where you areright now.
God has the power to takeanything and through your
(22:36):
weakness, through your trials.
He will make you greater thanbefore, Verse 19.
From this day, I will bless you.
So what day is that?
Well, you get to decide.
It's the day you choose to giveGod's strength and ways a try.
(23:02):
Verses 15 through 17, considerfrom this day on before a stone
was laid upon a stone in thetemple of the Lord, remember
what it was like before youdecided to let the Lord build
you up and the days before whenyou forgot to turn to me and
labored without me, you would dowork and expect results, but you
(23:23):
would only get half of what youhoped for.
And I love this, and I want youto feel this for yourself in
verse 18, consider now from thisday and upward from the four and
20th day of the ninth month,even from the day that the
foundation of the Lord's templewas laid, consider it.
(23:44):
Can you hear these words foryourself from this day, from
this month in this year?
Let it be today.
Let this turning point be today.
It is your choice.
And that foundation that we aregoing to start building on is
the rock of our Redeemer.
(24:06):
In verse 19, he explains howeverything's going to change
now.
You are going to get fruitfulresults from everything you do
in Christ.
From this day, will I bless you.
Everything you tried before anddidn't get the results you hoped
for, with me, those results willbe quadrupled.
(24:26):
In verses 20-22, he talks aboutovercoming kingdoms and enemies.
He can also overthrow anddestroy the enemies within you.
Why?
Verse 23.
For I have chosen You, do youfeel that This promise is to
(24:50):
you, my friend, don't everforget it today is the day you
have been chosen to do animportant work and the Lord will
help you.
It will change you.
It will bring blessings intoyour life that you have never
even imagined for yourself.
Put it on your screensaver, putit on your wall, put it in your
(25:12):
heart, put it to work.
It is time.
As you begin this journey,there's a couple other verses of
scripture that refer to thebuilding of temples that I think
are also helpful.
The first one in D& C 95 verses11 through 14.
Verily I say unto you, it is mywill that you should build up a
(25:35):
house.
Remember the house is you.
If you keep my commandments, Youshall have power to build it.
Now here is wisdom and the mindof the Lord.
Let the house be built, notafter the manner of the world.
For I give not unto you that yeshall live after the manner of
(25:55):
the world.
Therefore, let it be built afterthe manner which I shall show
you.
This is key here.
Letting God show you His way andHis pattern.
But let a house be built unto myname, according to the pattern
which I will show unto you.
(26:18):
That's D& C 115.
14.
And then look at these beautifulblessings that will enter this
house in D& C 109.
Establish a house.
Even a house of prayer, a houseof fasting, a house of faith, a
house of learning, a house ofglory, a house of order, a house
(26:40):
of God.
That house can be you.
That God's glory may rest downupon this, thy house, which we
now dedicate to thee, that itmay be sanctified and
consecrated to be holy, and thatthy holy presence may be
(27:01):
continually in this house, andthat all people who shall enter
upon the threshold of the Lord'shouse may feel thy power and
feel constrained to acknowledgethat thou hast sanctified it.
And that it is a, thy house, aplace of holiness, such
(27:23):
beautiful change will come intoyour life, that people around
you will not be able to help,but recognize it and acknowledge
it.
So after these insights andexperience that I had, I was
excited, but a little at a lossbecause I stubbornly, but
(27:45):
sincerely thought I was alreadydoing things in God's way.
So the first question I askedis, what way is mine that I need
to give up, and what way isyours that I can replace it
with?
As I pondered, the thought cameto my mind that the thing I had
(28:06):
always done was live from aspace of unworthiness and not
enoughness.
My motivation for action camefrom hope that I would someday
be good enough for God andeveryone else.
This angle never works becauseno matter what, in your mind you
(28:28):
can never do enough.
You end up exhausted and seekingsolace in the wrong things
because you don't feel worthy tofind solace in Christ.
Then the thought came to me,what if God's way, what if the
new thing was believing in whatan amazing child of God I
already was and that I had agreat work that God would help
(28:53):
me do.
Motivation from that space istruth and it is so much better.
Everyone will have a differentanswer and path, but whatever it
is, it's going to take patienceand persistence, but it will
lead to real progress.
(29:14):
Minnie Louise Haskins wrote, AndI said to the man who stood at
the gate of the year, Give me alight that I may tread safely
into the unknown.
And he replied, Go out into thedarkness and put your hand into
the hand of God.
That shall be to you better thanlight and safer than a known
(29:38):
way.
So I went forth, and finding thehand of God, trod gladly into
the night.
And he led me toward the hillsand the breaking of day in the
lone east.
You are promised to be shown away that is even better than
(29:58):
what has always felt familiarand safe to you.
So the question to ask of Godthat I offer to you this week
is, what way is mine that I needto give up?
What way is yours that I canreplace it with?
Heavenly Father will answer.
(30:21):
From this day, He will blessyou.
He has chosen you.
Christ is change, evenimpossible change.
Christ is hope, smilingbrightly.
Amber (30:40):
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to produce this podcast, but itwouldn't be possible without
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