This summer we had my stepson with us. Life is very different at his mom's house, and so we struggle sometimes to get in sync with each other again. One thing that came up while he was here is that there are many times that I handle things differently than his mom would because I have several children in my household at one time while his mom only has one (him). There were several times when he would try to tell me that his way (or his mom's way) were better than my way even though he wasn't looking at it from anyone's perspective but his own. It was a frustrating thing to hear from him, but a few weeks later I was reading in Jacob 4:10 and came across this wonderful little scripture, " Wherefore, brethren, seek not to counsel the Lord, but to take counsel from his hand." After a summer full of hearing a child tell me from his limited perspective that I, the parent, should change the way I was doing something, this really resonated with me.
In what ways are we, the children with the limited perspective, counseling the Lord instead of taking counsel from His hand?
1) I have recently been fretting over a decision that I had made. Honestly, I don't know that it matters one way or the other what I decide, and the decision is far enough in the future that my decision my not matter anyway because other circumstances may come up and change the situation before then. However, when I read through this verse in Jacob, I wondered if I had been counseling the Lord when I had been praying about it. You see, instead of praying for counsel from the Lord about what I should be doing, or helping me to know the right path, or helping me to prepare myself for whatever outcome the Lord saw fit to give me, I had been praying for the outcome that I wanted. Even though I had been throwing in the phrase "Thy will be done", I wondered how much I had really wanted His will to be done and how much I had really been praying with the intent that what I wanted should happen. Knowing the intent with which we pray, praying for counsel and guidance, and honestly seeking the Lord's will are all ways that we take counsel from the Lord instead of turning our prayers into us counseling the Lord.
2) Another way that has recently been apparent in my life that we could be counseling the Lord instead of taking counsel from Him is in our acceptance of callings. When we are called to a specific calling do we refuse it because we don't think it fits us? Is it too boring? Something we're not good at? I know that sometimes our life is in turmoil, or that we are having trials that our leaders are not aware of, but do we let our leaders know our concerns and then trust the answer that they receive and we receive from the Lord? Or do we insist that we know that this calling could not possibly help us in the trial that we are having? If we truly want to counsel with the Lord, even when we have concerns about the calling, we will pray to see what the Lord is saying to us about the calling and the affect that it could have on our life.
3) Another way that has come up in my life recently is whether there is criticism of how things are run at the ward, stake, regional, etc levels. I am not suggesting that our leaders are infallible, they are human after all. But if we have an automatic adverse reaction to something (or everything) we are asked to do, or a program that a leader is prompted to put into place, or a challenge that our Bishop or Stake President gives to us, perhaps we are counseling the Lord instead of taking counsel from His hand.
The end of this scripture reminds me how much the Lord really is looking out for each of us. It says "For behold, ye yourselves know that [the Lord] counseleth in wisdom, and in justice, and in great mercy, over all his works" (emphasis added). Just as we as parents look after (to the best of our ability) the needs and wants of ALL of our children, the Lord is looking at the needs and wants of ALL of his children. So seek not to counsel Him. He's looking at everyone and is helping ALL of us as we seek His counsel and come closer to Him.
Great counsel, Stacey! I have had practical experience with #2 on many occasions but one in particular I remember is when Brooke was about a year old. Hunter had been diagnosed with autism about a year and a half earlier and we were still trying to figure out the ramifications of that diagnosis on him and on our family. He was enrolled in an early special education program but I was also supplementing that with 1-2 hours per day of instruction and sensory/occupational therapy input on my own to try to help him progress (which many times I was doing with a precocious 3 year old wanting to be a part of it and also an infant on my lap). Lynn was really busy with school and coaching (he was in the midst of the track season at the time) and was still reeling emotionally from Hunter's diagnosis. I was feeling very spread thin and was praying for adequate time and energy to meet everyone's needs and to keep our family thriving.
ReplyDeleteAt this time, the bishop asked to meet with me and extended the call of Young Women President for the ward. I seriously remember thinking, "What?!? I already don't have enough time and energy for what I have... how is this supposed to help?!?" But, thankfully, I didn't say that out loud, I remembered what I had been taught from a youth to accept callings, I trusted in the Lord and I said "yes." And, amazingly, being YW President at that time was exactly what I needed. It forced me to better schedule my time, to look to others' needs instead of focusing on my own (which helped me tremendously to better cope emotionally), and to share/develop my talents which led to increased confidence and feelings of self-worth. The Lord did know best. :)