Trust in the Lord and Lean Not
Second Counselor in the Primary General Presidency
We can center our lives on the Savior by coming to know Him, and
He will direct our paths.
While I was traveling in Asia, a dear sister approached me. She
wrapped her arms around me and asked, “Do you really believe that this gospel
is true?” Dear sister, I know it is true. I trust in the Lord.
In Proverbs 3:5–6, we read this
counsel:
“Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine
own understanding.
“In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy
paths.”
This scripture comes with two admonitions, a warning, and a
glorious promise. The two admonitions: “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart”
and “in all thy ways acknowledge him.” The warning: “Lean not unto thine own
understanding.” And the glorious promise: “He shall direct thy paths.”
Let’s first discuss the warning. The visual image gives us much
to ponder. The warning comes in the words “lean not”—“lean not unto thine own
understanding.” In English the word lean has a connotation of physically
listing or moving to one side. When we physically lean toward one side or another, we
move off center, we are out of balance, and we tip. When we spiritually lean to our own understanding, we lean
away from our Savior. If we lean, we are not centered; we are not balanced; we
are not focused on Christ.
Sisters, remember, in our premortal life we stood with the
Savior. We trusted Him. We voiced our support, enthusiasm, and joy for the plan
of happiness set forth by our Heavenly Father. We leaned not. We fought with our
testimonies and “aligned ourselves with the forces of God, and those forces
were victorious.”1 This battle between good and evil has
moved to earth. Once again we have the sacred responsibility to stand as a
witness and put our trust in the Lord.
We must each ask: How do I keep centered and lean not unto my own understanding? How do I
recognize and follow the Savior’s voice when the voices of the world are so
compelling? How do I cultivate trust in the Savior?
May I suggest three ways to increase our knowledge of and trust
in the Savior. You will find that these principles are not new, but they are
foundational. They are sung in every Primary, echoed in Young Women lessons,
and are responses to many Relief Society questions. They are centering—and not
leaning—principles.
First, we can come to know the Lord and trust Him as we “feast
upon the words of Christ; for behold, the words of Christ will tell you all
things what ye should do.”2
Several months ago we were having family scripture study. My two-year-old
grandson was sitting on my lap as we read. I was in full-blown grandma mode,
relishing the visit of my son’s family.
With our scripture study complete, I closed my book. My grandson
knew that it would soon be bedtime. He looked up with his eager blue eyes and
spoke an eternal truth: “More scriptures, Nana.”
My son, a good and consistent parent, warned me, “Mom, don’t be
a weak link. He is just trying to get out of going to bed.”
But when my grandson asks for more scriptures, we read more
scriptures! More scriptures enlighten our minds, nourish our spirits, answer
our questions, increase our trust in the Lord, and help us center our lives on
Him. “Remember to search them diligently, that ye may profit thereby.”3
Second, we can come to know the Lord and trust Him through
prayer. What a blessing to be able to pray to our God! “Pray unto the Father
with all the energy of heart.”4
I have a sweet memory of a prayer that I treasure. For one of my
summer breaks from college, I accepted a job in Texas. I had to drive hundreds
of miles from Idaho to Texas in my old car, a car I had affectionately named
Vern. Vern was packed to the roof, and I was ready for the new adventure.
On my way out the door, I gave my dear mother a hug and she
said, “Let’s say a prayer before you leave.”
We knelt and my mother began to pray. She pleaded with Heavenly
Father for my safety. She prayed for my non-air-conditioned car, asking that
the car would function as I needed. She asked for angels to be with me
throughout the summer. She prayed and prayed and prayed.
The peace that came from that prayer gave me the courage to
trust in the Lord and lean not to my own understanding. The Lord directed my
path in the many decisions I made that summer.
As we make a habit of approaching Heavenly Father in prayer, we
will come to know the Savior. We will come to trust Him. Our desires will
become more like His. We will be able to secure for ourselves and for others
blessings that Heavenly Father is ready to give if we will but ask in faith.5
Third, we can come to know the Lord and trust Him as we serve
others. I share the following story with permission from Amy Wright, who came
to understand the principle of serving even amid a terrifying and
life-threatening illness. Amy wrote:
“On October 29, 2015, I found out I had cancer. My cancer
has a 17 percent survival rate. The odds weren’t good. I knew that I would be
in for the fight of my life. I was determined to give it everything I had not
just for myself but, more important, for my family. In December, I began chemo.
I was familiar with many of the side effects of cancer-fighting drugs, but I
did not know that it was possible for someone to be so sick and still be alive.
“At one point, I declared chemotherapy a human rights violation.
I told my husband that I was done. I quit! I was not going back to the
hospital. In his wisdom, my sweetheart patiently listened and then responded,
‘Well, then we need to find someone to serve.’”
What? Did he miss the fact that his wife had cancer and couldn’t
take one more bout of nausea or one more moment of excruciating pain?
Amy goes on to explain: “My symptoms gradually worsened to where
I generally had one or two ‘OK’ days a month [when] I could somewhat function
as a living, breathing human being. It was those days when our family would
find ways to serve.”
On one of those days, Amy’s family distributed chemo comfort
kits to other patients, kits filled with items to cheer and to help relieve
symptoms. When Amy couldn’t sleep, she would think of ways to brighten someone
else’s day. Some ways were big, but many were just small notes or text messages
of encouragement and love. On those nights when her pain was too great to
sleep, she would lie in bed with her iPad and search for ordinances that needed
to be completed on behalf of her deceased ancestors. Miraculously the pain
would subside, and she was able to endure.
“Service,” Amy testifies, “saved my life. Where I ultimately
found my strength to keep moving forward was the happiness I discovered in
trying to relieve the suffering of those around me. I looked forward to our
service projects with great joy and anticipation. Still to this day it seems
like such a strange paradox. You would think that someone who was bald,
poisoned, and fighting for [her] life was justified in thinking that ‘right now
it is all about me.’ However, when I thought about myself, my situation, my
suffering and pain, the world became very dark and depressing. When my focus
turned to others, there was light, hope, strength, courage, and joy. I know
that this is possible because of the sustaining, healing, and enabling power of
the Atonement of Jesus
Christ.”
Amy came to trust in the Lord as she came to know Him. If she
had leaned even a little to her own understanding, she might have rejected the
idea that she serve. Service enabled her to withstand her pain and afflictions
and to live this scripture: “When ye are in the service of your fellow beings
ye are only in the service of your God.”6
Jesus Christ has overcome the world. And because of Him, because
of His infinite Atonement, we all have great cause to trust, knowing that
ultimately all will be well.
Sisters, each of us can trust in the Lord and lean not. We can center our lives on the Savior
by coming to know Him, and He will direct our paths.
We are on earth to demonstrate the same trust in Him that allowed us to stand with Jesus
Christ when He declared, “Here am I, send me.”7
My
dear sisters, President Thomas S. Monson testified that “our promised blessings
are beyond measure. Though the storm clouds may gather, though the rains may
pour down upon us, our knowledge of the gospel and our love of our Heavenly
Father and of our Savior will comfort and sustain us … as we walk uprightly. …
There will be nothing in this world that can defeat us.”8
I add my testimony to that of our beloved prophet. If we trust
in our Heavenly Father and in our Savior and lean not to our own understanding,
They will direct our paths and will extend the arm of mercy toward us. In the
name of Jesus Christ, amen.
“Left or
the Right”
cji
5/1/17
There is
a straight path
leading to
the Lord’s Zion
staying
in the center always
going
neither left or the right
having
clear goals in sight
avoiding
adversary’s maze
each of
us are the scion
Father
and the Son’s lath!
Copyright © 2017 – cji
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