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| ©Darrell Wyatt |
I want to revisit yesterday's chapter just for a moment. There was so much in it that I knew I wouldn't be able to do it justice with just one post.
The Lord had prepared a promised land for the Jared and his people - "a land choice above all other lands"(Ether 2:7). The problem was that it was across the ocean from the wilderness in which they had spent the last four years, and they needed a way to get there.
And the Lord said: Go to work and build, after the manner of barges which ye have hitherto built. And it came to pass that the brother of Jared did go to work, and also his brethren...(Ether 2:16)
Go to work. Could the Lord have provided the way for them? Absolutely. But this is, once again, a supreme example of leadership and love. And it didn't stop there. The Jaredites built the barges to the specifications given them by the Lord, but there was no way to light them.
And he (the brother of Jared) cried again unto the Lord saying: O Lord, behold I have done even as thou hast commanded me; and I have prepared the vessels for my people, and behold there is no light in them. Behold, O Lord, wilt thou suffer that we shall cross this great water in darkness?(Ether 2:22)
There is a valuable lesson to be learned in the Lord's answer to the brother of Jared:
And the Lord said unto the brother of Jared: What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessels?(Ether 2:23)
Now, we all know that He could have provided the answer to the brother of Jared. He could have told him exactly what to do. He could have just given the light to him, but he did not. The Lord made the brother of Jared come up with a plan on his own. He helped him to learn. He helped him to be self-sufficient. The brother of Jared did come up with a solution to the problem and, as a result, saw Jesus Christ's spirit body. What a blessing this was to him. One that would not have occurred had the Lord simply solved the problem for him.
I love the phrasing that is used by Him in this verse: "That ye may have light in your vessels." There is an almost physical change that comes upon a person who has turned his or her life over to God. It sounds corny and cliche, but there is an actual glow to one's countenance when they are making the right choices and when they are at peace. A light in their vessel.
I believe that we have a loving Savior who is ready and waiting to bless us, if we but ask. Whatever trials or adversities that we are facing in our lives, he wants to help us. He would say to each of us, "What will ye that I should do that ye may have light in your vessel?" It is up to us to bring our worries to His feet and then accept that light that He has to offer.
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