Last Days

 

I got a call from a devastated acquaintance today.  Her daughter and son-in-law were just convicted of serious drug charges and her grandson is left at the mercy of the state foster care system.  She hates addiction with a passion, but can't beat it herself so she can't take him either.  

Ten years ago she went through something similar with another daughter and I helped get her girls moved safely into a forever family.  But not without a lot of heartbreak along the way.  

That time the woman was angry, even furious at those who make money peddling drugs and at Satan himself.  She was mad at herself for not being stronger. 

This time she is just tired, exhausted and resigned to failure.  

It can definitely be defeating to get what feels like bad news after bad news.  But none of this took God by surprise.  Even our worst sins and mistakes don't take God by surprise.  Sure, he is disappointed and he is sad for us, but he put plans in motion to help us all overcome it all.   

I read this quote by Sheri Dew today which speaks of times just like this.  Of feeling like giving up, throwing in the towel, deciding we aren't good enough anyway so why bother trying.  Have you ever felt that way? 

“The last days are not for the faint of heart or the spiritually out of shape. There will be days when you feel defeated, exhausted, and plain old beat-up by life’s whiplash. People you love will disappoint you—and you will disappoint them. You’ll probably struggle with some kind of mortal appetite. Some days it will feel as though the veil between heaven and earth is made of reinforced concrete. And you may even face a crisis of faith. In fact, you can count on trials that test your testimony and your faith.

The simple fact is that our Father did not recommend Eve or Moses or Nephi or countless other magnificent exemplars for this dispensation—He recommended you and me. Do you think God would have left the last days to chance by sending men and women He couldn’t count on? A common theme of patriarchal blessings given to men and women your age is that you were sent now because our Father’s most trustworthy children would be needed in the final, decisive battle for righteousness. That is who you are, and it is who you have always been.

God wants a powerful people. No one better understands that Satan is real and that he has power. No one better understands that none of us is smart enough or resilient enough to spar with Satan and survive spiritually. He is a snake, in every sense of that word.

We have access to the greatest and grandest of all power. And when we have the power of God with us, we truly can do all things—including everything we were born to do. And we were born to lead. We were born for glory."

We were born for greatness, but we can't buy into Satan's lies about what true greatness is.  We can rise up with the Savior's help.  We can lead our children in righteousness.  We can stay as far from Satan and his deceitful trickery as possible.  We can stop saying sin isn't "that bad" and start keeping the enemy out of our homes. We can honestly identify the mortal appetite that is our weakness and do everything in our power to overcome it and then call in Heaven to help us the rest of the way.  

We can't do it alone.  But that was never the plan anyway.  

We are strong.  We are faithful.  We are patient.  We are His.