Righteous Desires

ANY Righteous Desire


I read that verse over and over again until I had read it probably a dozen times in a row.  "Does it really say that?" I kept excitedly asking myself.  Because it was such a familiar verse, I usually just skimmed it, but this time with new eyes to see, an unexpected message penetrated my receptive heart.

"And now, if God, who has created you, on whom you are dependent for your lives and for all that ye have and are, doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive, O then, how ye ought to impart of the substance that ye have one to another" (Mosiah 4:21).

The other times I had read this verse I had zoomed in on the parts about being charitable and recognizing how dependent I am on God for everything He provides for me.  For the first time, however, I read this: "...God...doth grant unto you whatsoever ye ask that is right, in faith, believing that ye shall receive..."

What?!

Yes.  And then just a few nights later my daughter and I came across almost the exact same words:

"And whatsoever ye shall ask the Father in my name, which is right, believing that ye shall receive, behold it shall be given unto you" (3 Nephi 18:20).

I could not believe I came across these words twice in only a matter of days!  I had some pretty big righteous desires...namely, Mark and I would love to continue to add to our family.  We have only dipped our toes into the world of adoption, yet already, there have been up's and down's.  At the time I discovered these words, it was at a low-point with adoption.  I felt like it was requiring more vulnerability than I could maintain and it felt like it would never happen.  With fresh vigor from these verses, my hope was renewed.  God said "whatsoever" and what could possibly be more right than adding another child(ren) to our family?

Since my first exposure to righteous desires in this context about 18 months ago, I have tagged 31 other verses or words from prophets and apostles in my LDS gospel app.  God will give us whatever we desire in righteousness and faith.  Whatsoever. Period.  Listen to a few others:

"Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it" (Enos 1:15).

"Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothings, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth" (Mormon 9:21).

"If ye abide in me, and my words abide in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you" (John 15:7).

"If ye shall ask anything in my name, I will do it" (John 14:14).

Now with more life experiences, :) I am learning that there is a deeper dimension to this than I caught at first-glance.  Let me explain...

Not Shrinking


"Verily, verily, I say unto you, even as you desire of me so it shall be done unto you; and, if you desire, you shall be the means of doing much good in this generation...And now, verily, verily, I say unto thee, put your trust in that Spirit which leadeth to do good---yea, to do justly, to walk humbly, to judge righteously; and this is my Spirit...And then shall ye know, or by this shall you know, all things whatsoever you desire of me, which are pertaining unto things of righteousness, in faith believing in me that you shall receive" (D&C 11:8, 12, & 14).

A new righteous desire has grown in my heart: the desire to make the way better for other women.  As I have counseled with God about sharing hope and light in this way, I have been reminded of who I was before I came to this earth---of who I truly am.  I have desired this with all my heart and have caught small glimpses of the beautiful possibilities as God has prepared the way and opened up doors.  It has been humbling and amazing to watch the ways God has empowered me to "be the means of doing much good in this generation." Just like with adoption, however, things haven't come together how or when I have expected they would. :)

I have tackled this desire with eagerness, passion, and urgency.  Women needed better resources years ago and so everything "has to" come out as quickly as possible.  As seeming road-blocks, dead-ends, or delays have popped up, it's been easy to become frustrated, discouraged, or to doubt myself or the unique ways God needs me to play my small part in His plan.  I didn't understand why everything wasn't happening quickly or smoothly when it was such a "straight shot."

And then it clicked!  God has blessed me with numerous opportunities to trust Him, His wisdom, and His timing.  These opportunities have always come with a bitter cup, though.  It has been those life experiences where my initial reaction has been to turn away from them and fight against them.  It's these Divinely designed experiences that have shaped me into who I am and becoming---He has needed me to not shrink back from them.  They were the experiences that were necessary for me to pass through.   Some of these life experiences have been difficult to become willing to accept, but it is a surrender process that has become more and more familiar.  Trusting Him with righteous desires is new territory for me, but once He gently helped me make the connection to not shrinking here either, it is actually a familiar process. At its roots it's the same thing---a deeper dimension of not shrinking.

Just as we can choose to pass through heartbreak with grace and patience, we can also choose to wait patiently on the Lord as the most righteous desires of our heart gently unfold.   We can choose not to shrink away from the ways God sees fit to allow this process to take place.

Intentions


How many of our righteous desires will God bring about?  This far into this process, I still believe it's 100%.  That may come as we get better at tuning in more fully to His will.  Sometimes we desire things for righteous reasons, but that doesn't automatically make it right.  That is our first task---to separate from our own will as we (an individual AND God) prayerfully design our intentions.

I believe that 100% also comes as we allow God to work in our lives---how and when He needs to. This, again, requires the detachment from our own will as He takes our deepest intentions and most righteous desires and begins to work with them.  Things may not look like what we were expecting...AT.ALL.  Because we are acclimated to living in a fallen world, we may be constantly casting judgement. ("That is a loss or a set-back.  I cannot believe that just happened!"  Or even the opposite! We quickly assume that we "have it in the bag" by assigning "good" or "gain" labels to circumstances or events.  How do we even know what is actually going to propel us forward or send us in a better direction with our limited mortal perspective?!  Isn't that amazing to consider on?  It's easy to cast hasty judgement that is so far from God's view of our lives.)

After our intentions have been sent Heavenward, we need to learn to just be.  Whatever is in this moment is.  It's this moment...not what has happened or what is going to happen.  Just because something is before us right now doesn't mean all is lost! We can trust that if we have counseled with the Lord on what is right and set those intentions as righteous desires then it is enough.   "And this is the confidence that we have in Him, that, if we ask any thing according to His will, He heareth us:  and if we know that He hear us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we desired of Him" (1 John 5:14-15).

Sometimes the seeming "delay" of these righteous desires can be challenging as well.  Satan may find it the opportune time to taunt or mock us.  If we are not careful, we may begin to actually believe the lies he offers and back down from our intentions.  "Delays" are Divinely guided...even those "delays"that mean our righteous desires are not brought about in this life.

As I got the second rejection letter from the publishing company for my book, I couldn't understand as easily as the first rejection.  Just like I have spoken about already in this post, beautiful and incredible things have happened as I can now see more of the picture of how and when things need to come together for this righteous desire.  I can't speak of these details yet, but hopefully soon.

That night as I read the second rejection letter, it was harder to take.  I reached out to a wise friend who has been there too.  Her loving words pointed out that for those who seek to actively participate in preaching the gospel in the ways that I have felt called to do, it is a path that requires deep, deep refinement.  I believe our desires to do good and serve those around us with our Savior naturally unfolds the sanctification process. We must be better than we have been in order to assist in Christ's work...we must become more and more like our Savior and our Father in order to be on Their errand. Most mortals can only tolerate this as a process...that is why God teaches us "line upon line." We cannot immediately jump from full-blown natural man back into God's presence. :)  We need more practice.

In the few months since the correspondence with my friend, I have had a tiny glimpse of the truthfulness of her words.  She is right.  There is so much refining of me in order to be the instrument of light that God intends for me to be.  What would it be like to speak with such power "...that [it is impossible for those in my circle of influence to] disbelieve [my] words, for so great [is my] faith on the Lord Jesus" (3 Nephi 7:18)?!

I have a long, long, long way to go!  And so, as I have set my intentions according to God's will and the righteous desires of my heart, why become impatient with the twists and turns that this process requires?  I may not understand why, how, or when, but God does.  If we have aligned our intentions righteously with God's will, we can trust, wait patiently, and choose to not shrink from the ways and times He sees fit to bring our righteous desires about.

One last passage.  This verse is one I have shared before, but let me share parts of the surrounding verses too this time:  "Trust in the Lord, and do good...delight thyself also in the Lord; and He shall give thee the desires of thine heart.  Commit thy way unto the Lord; trust also in Him; and He shall bring it to pass.  And He shall bring forth they righteousness as the light, and they judgement as the noonday.  Rest in the Lord, and wait patiently for Him: fret not thyself...Cease from anger, and forsake wrath: fret not thyself...Those that wait upon the Lord, they shall inherit the earth" (Psalm 37: 3-9).

I can trust God even more---more than I ever have before---knowing that He has heard the desires of my heart and will bring them to pass according to His wisdom and His plan...not mine (thankfully!).  


Comments

  1. The second paragraph under Intentions reminds me of this parable: https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_continue=8&v=OX0OARBqBp0

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