“Having a divine perspective and hope helps me to know I am not alone.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’
Sometimes life can be hard and we struggle to make sense of it.
Right now, is a tough time for many people. Families and individuals are struggling financially with debt and the downturn of the economy and at the same time are in constant vigilance against fraud and deception. Some are dealing with ‘Acts of God’ like flooding, fires, and earthquakes and crazy storms in places that don’t normally have them. Many cities are dealing with high levels of theft and property damage, homelessness, and contention, and violence. Some countries are at war, or are balanced precariously on the threat of war.
It is a hard world to live in right now. Everywhere we turn life is a challenge. With disasters and war comes casualties and loss of life, but many families are also dealing with grief from family members being ill, or declining with age, or divorce and abuse.
This is when many people start asking if there is a God why does he allow this to happen? Or why did he do this to me or my family? Perhaps you might have felt like God was punishing you or someone you love by causing a particular tragedy.
Whenever I begin to ask, “why me, why now?” I am reminded of a Prophet named Alma. He had 3 sons and before he passed away, he wanted to impart words of advice to all three sons. Some advice was unique to each son and their particular needs or personality but one piece of advice in particular he gave to his two oldest sons.
The space that he had to write was limited but it was recorded twice. That caught my attention. He also seemed be using 3 words to describe the same thing. Why use three words when one would do?
To his son Helaman, he recounted his life story and concluded, “And I have been supported under trials and troubles of every kind, yea, and in all manner of afflictions;” (Alma 36:27)
To his son Shiblon he counselled “And now my son, Shiblon, I would that ye should remember, that as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day.” (Alma 38:5)
Why use the words trial, troubles and afflictions? And why use them both times? That’s when it came to me trials, troubles and afflictions are three separate things.
Trials are what everyone has to experience in this life. It is what helps us grow and refines us. Things will go wrong, the weather will be bad, our bodies will get sick and people we love will die before us. We all have to go through trials and experiences.
But troubles and afflictions are a completely different story.
Troubles are the things we bring upon ourselves through our own mistakes or choices. If I fall down and break a limb because I chose to get drunk. If I get lung cancer because I chose to smoke my whole life. If I am not careful in the way I prepare food and I get food poisoning. If I am not diligent with my finances and I overspend and accumulate a huge debt. If I put myself in a dangerous situation or I fail to check my gear before doing something dangerous. If I spend all my time and resources feeding an addiction and struggle to function properly in life. These are all things that I have brought upon myself.
It can be difficult to admit that we’ve made mistakes that have brought difficulties upon us and sometimes our families. It requires taking full responsibility and ownership of our life choices.
The last one is afflictions. There unfortunately are things that happen to us because of other’s negligence, cruelty and unkindness. These are things that happen because someone has chosen to act in a manner that is in their own best interest or as a result of the trauma and harm that has been done to them. They have afflicted upon us harm as a result.
When we are struggling, it helps to put things into perspective.
Is this something in life we all have to go through at some point – death, illness, life’s storms? Or is this something that I brought upon myself because of my carelessness or rebellion? Or was this a result of someone else’s negligence or desire to harm?
God gives us solutions in every case. For life’s storms, literal and figurative, He encourages us to rely on Him for strength and to look to each other for support. These things can be weathered. They will pass. In Canada, when the snowstorm hits, everyone comes out to help each other, to shovel and plow, provide food and warmth, and look out for each other.
When we have brought troubles on ourselves, God invites us to make changes and fix the mistakes. Again, we can turn to Him for strength. He believes in us and loves us. He encourages us to reach out for support from loved ones and organizations for help. These moments can be humbling but humble reminds us of what really is important in life.
And lastly, when we have suffered because of someone else’s choices, negligence, selfishness or desire to do harm, please know that God did not do this to you. Quite the opposite, He loves you and is heartbroken when you suffer in this way. He will strengthen you, heal you, buoy you up. These are the moments when He sends angels to support you. Real angels, you may not see them, but they are there, and earthly angels. People who will perform tiny acts of kindness and sometimes move mountains to be there for you.
When life’s trial, troubles and affliction come barreling down on you, remember the words of Alma to his sons “as much as ye shall put your trust in God even so much ye shall be delivered out of your trials, and your troubles, and your afflictions, and ye shall be lifted up at the last day” Alma 38:5
You can and will be delivered from it all. The sun will shine again, and you will see all who support you through every moment.
What deliverance have you found from life’s storms? Who was there for you during your darkest moments? What changes can you make to alleviate some of your own troubles? How can you better be there for others knowing that we all are going through the same things?
“God is love. God will undo every block. God will right every wrong. God will bring everyone home.”
Laura Lane from ‘I Touch the Heavens’