His son announced to him that “I’ve learned that ‘soon’ for you is a very long time for me.”
Likewise, when the Lord or his servants say “not many days hence” it could be a lifetime or more away.
These are good experiences to share. We need to understand that hard experiences are opportunities to feel the intervening hand of the Lord.
Several years ago, our five-year-old son came to me and announced, “Dad, I’ve figured something out. I’ve figured out that soon for you is a very long time for me.”
When the Lord or His servants say things like, “Not many days hence” or “The time is not far distant,” it can literally mean a lifetime or longer. His time, and frequently His timing, is different from ours. Patience is key. Without it, we can neither develop nor demonstrate faith in God unto life and salvation. But my message today is that, even while we are patiently waiting upon the Lord, there are certain blessings that come to us immediately.
When Alma and his people were captured by the Lamanites, they prayed for deliverance. They were not immediately delivered, but while they patiently waited for deliverance, the Lord showed forth His goodness with certain immediate blessings. He immediately softened the hearts of the Lamanites so they wouldn’t slay them. He also strengthened Alma’s people and eased their burdens. When they finally were delivered, they traveled to Zarahemla, where they recounted their experience to an amazed audience. The people of Zarahemla marveled, and “when they thought of the immediate goodness of God, and his power in delivering Alma and his brethren out of … bondage, they did raise their voices and give thanks to God.”
One of Laura’s problems is her blindness to the immediate blessings when the desired or eventual blessings have not yet arrived.
The immediate goodness of God comes to all who call upon Him with real intent and full purpose of heart. This includes those who cry out in earnest desperation, when deliverance seems so distant and suffering seems prolonged, even intensified.
These are the ones most likely to feel abandoned.
Above all, God’s love is immediate. With Paul, I testify that nothing can “separate us from the love of God, which is in Christ Jesus.” Even our sins, though they may separate us from His Spirit for a time, cannot separate us from the constancy and immediacy of His divine paternal love.
THIS IS TRUE!!
I realize that sometimes life’s experiences create confusion and turbulence that can make it difficult to receive or recognize or retain the kind of relief that came to Emilie and Alicia. I have been through such times. I testify that, during such times, our mere preservation is a tender and powerful manifestation of the immediate goodness of God. Remember, ancient Israel was ultimately delivered “by that same God who had preserved them” day to day.
This is the goodness Laura can’t seem to see
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