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| ©Darrell Wyatt |
The other day, as I was making bread, I was thinking about how incredible modern technology is. I had three loaves baking in the oven, three loaves rising on the counter and the dough for three more was being kneaded in my mixer. In a matter of an hour and a half, I would have nine fresh, warm loaves of homemade bread. That in itself is a kind of modern miracle, but add that to the other things that I had going on at the same time, and it really is almost unbelievable to think about. I was washing and drying laundry. I was printing out handmade candy wrappers to ship halfway across the world. I also had dried beans cooking in my electric pressure cooker for that night's dinner. And all of these things were done before lunchtime. Not to mention that during all this I was on the internet, most likely talking to family or friends hundreds of miles away.
It's no wonder that we've become such an impatient society. We are so used to having every wish granted almost instantaneously. If I want a recipe, it's much quicker to look it up on the internet than to search through my cookbooks. My kids don't even know what the phone book is - in fact, my son called it the "phone dictionary" the other day - because if we need a number, we can have it within just a few seconds using the computer. Long gone are the days of encyclopedias and dictionaries and thesauruses. Every bit of information that we need is at our fingertips - literally. Just a few keystrokes and we can be wherever we want, learning whatever we wish.
While all of these modern conveniences are amazing and fantastic and I'm pretty sure I could never live without most of them, I believe that they can also inhibit our personal growth. Sometimes waiting is good for us. It teaches patience and endurance.
This morning, I read more of the trials of Helaman and his army. They were already small in number compared to the Lamanites against whom they were at war, and they had to use some of their forces to protect the cities that they had regained as to not let them fall back into the hands of the Lamanites. So Helaman decided that it would be wise to wait for provisions and reinforcements before going to battle again to take back control of more of their cities. He sent an embassy to the governor to let him know of their situation and to request more food and men to fight with them. But the Lamanites were receiving provisions also, so it was impossible for Helaman's small group to overpower them and he stayed back.
And it came to pass that we did wait in these difficult circumstances for the space of many months, even until we were about to perish for the want of food.(Alma 58:7)
Finally, they received food, brought by two thousand men who joined forces with them. Helaman said, "and this is all the assistance which we did receive, to defend ourselves and our country from falling into the hands of our enemies, yea, to contend with an enemy which was innumerable".(Alma 58:8) He was frustrated. He was unsure why this was all the help they received, and he and his men were very concerned that they wouldn't be able to go against the Lamanites with so few men.
Therefore we did pour out our souls in prayer to God, that he would strengthen us and deliver us out of the hands of our enemies, yea, and also give us strength that we might retain our cities, and our lands, and our possessions, for the support of our people.
Yea, and it came to pass that the Lord our God did visit us with assurances that he would deliver us; yea, insomuch that he did speak peace to our souls, and did grant unto us great faith, and did cause us that we should hope for our deliverance in him. (Alma 58:10-11)
The rest of the chapter details the strategy that Helaman and his armies used to defeat the much larger army of Lamanites.
As I read, I thought about why the Lord would have made them wait for provisions for so long. Really, He could have provided for these men who were fighting for a righteous and noble cause, but He didn't. He made them wait. I played out in my mind a scenario where these men didn't have to wait. They received immediate reinforcements and provisions and were able to defeat the Lamanite army quickly and soundly. And then it hit me. Nowhere in that scenario would they have had to rely on the Lord for help. They would not have had to utilize their faith in His deliverance. They may have taken the credit themselves for winning the battle, instead of putting it where it rightfully belonged - with God.
There are times when I pray that I expect an immediate answer. If I do not receive it in my desired time frame, I invariably start to wonder if the Lord is really listening to me or if he even cares, when in fact this delayed answer may just be concrete evidence of how much he really does love me. He loves me enough to help me grow. My dependence upon Him keeps me grounded.
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