When Storm Clouds Gather

You know the phrase, "one step forward, two steps back?" Well, in regards to my blog, it has been more like one step forward, a couple of epic tumbles backward. Shortly after my last entry, my family took a vacation and when we got home I simply could not get back momentum. And as hard as I tried, it seemed like everything was standing in my way of meeting my goals. Almost like I was being tested or something.

That got me wondering: how often are the difficulties we experience, tests sent from God? And, how often are they merely the result of our choices or, more simply, just the way life is?

I used to imagine that it works something like in the movie, Clash of the Titans (the 1981 version.) In the movie, Zeus has little clay figures of all people. He places them in a miniature arena when he wants something to happen to them on earth and all the gods stand around and watch the results.

While that kind of thing (minus the clay figures) may happen occasionally, I believe that God isn't interested in placing challenges in our lives just to "see what we will do," rather he is more often there to support us through the natural tests of life. When you mix human nature and the individual agency of billions of people, challenges are bound to present themselves without much need for divine orchestration. So, he taught us what we need to do to succeed and then lets us figure things out for ourselves. That said, I certainly believe there are times that specific things happen which are meant for us, to teach us certain lessons. However, getting hung up trying to figure out whether any given trial was sent from God or not is counterproductive.

Take, for example, a story in 1 Nephi 16. Lehi and his family are continuing their travels when Nephi’s hunting bow breaks. The family is extremely distraught. Without it they are unable to hunt and begin to suffer from the lack of food. Once again, we see two very different ways of handling a crisis. Laman and Lemuel immediately begin to complain against God[1]. They start to doubt the whole point of their journey. Even Lehi, who had the miraculous vision which brought them there in the first place, begins to murmur against God[2]. Getting hung up on why God was testing them doesn’t do much to fix the problem. Nephi, on the other hand, shows us a perfect example of what to do. He gathers materials and-wait for it- makes a new bow![3] The Lord guides him to food and the family is saved. It seems so simple, yet I know all too well how difficult that can be to do. When we are suffering we want answers, we want a reason for what is happening, maybe we just want to grieve. I think that's ok, as long as we can pick ourselves up again and turn to God. Because regardless of the reasons behind our challenges, he will always be there when we need him.

The nature of life is such that at times we will struggle, suffer, or fail. When those storm clouds gather, and we are tempted to wonder why or if, a better approach is to simply focus on how to move forward and trust that God will be there to help us.

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[1] 1 Nephi 16:20, 22

[2] 1 Nephi 16:25

[3] 1 Nephi 16:23