“Be still my soul, the Lord is on thy side. With patience bear, thy cross of grief and pain. Leave to thy God to order and provide. In every change He faithful will remain.” (Be Still My Soul from the Song Book of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter day Saints (LDS) page # 124)
As I sang those four lines at the opening of Sacrament meeting last Sunday, I was brought to tears and could not sing any further. I had been experiencing a lengthy struggle with the adversary over the last six months and that was the message I received from on high.
This message is for everyone as Satan will tempt us with the weaknesses we know best in ourselves. Whether it is the feeling of worthlessness, running faster than we are able or beating ourselves up that we are not the best at everything, (whatever it is), this physical manifestation of our own weaknesses will drag us down to depression; the kind of depression that is debilitating and scarring.
Satan wants us to lose. He wants us to be unsuccessful especially in sharing and helping others in the gospel of Jesus Christ. Whether a single person, single parent, married parent, grandparent or aunt or uncle, we are righteous spiritual beings all working towards the same finish: to raise righteous children, do the Lord’s work on earth and help others.
We know that our God will not leave us without a rope to climb or an open window to escape, we are His children and He loves us. An LDS priesthood leader, President Dieter F. Uchtdorf tells us: “Our destiny is not determined by the number of times we stumble but by the number of times we rise up, dust ourselves off, and move forward.”
By the same token we are given weaknesses to be humbled and turn these same weaknesses to strengths. We read from the ancient prophet Ether who wrote: (Ether 12: 27-28)
“And if men come unto me I will show unto them their weakness. I give unto men weakness that they may be humble; and my grace is sufficient for all men that humble themselves before me; for if they humble themselves before me, and have faith in me, then will I make weak things become strong unto them.
Behold, I will show unto the Gentiles their weakness, and I will show unto them that faith, hope and charity bringeth unto me—the fountain of all righteousness.” How can we forget these beautiful messages? When we are in the midst of our weaknesses or struggles, the task at hand can be so difficult that we forget the love of our Heavenly Father. We forget our purpose and how to fight back against Satan. We forget that we are strong and should not get sucked into a pity party for ourselves which leaves us depressed and useless.
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Two years ago a movie was released to the theater which used this catch phrase: “Remember who your enemy is.” This statement had a profound effect on both me and my friend who saw the movie. We talked about how this catch phrase can help us realize how the adversary can over take our purpose and happiness. If we could only remember who our enemy is the battle would soon be won. We have the tools of our scriptures, prayer and encouragement of our religious leaders to keep us safe from the enemy. We have the “whole armor of God” which in Ephesians says “…may be able to stand against the wiles of the devil.” (Ephesians 6:11) We have our families and good friends who love us and can remind us of our blessings and the importance of keeping the faith. Be still and know that God loves us and wants the best for us.
Valerie Steimle has been writing as a family advocate for over 25 years. As a convert to The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, she promotes Christian living in her writings and is the mother of nine children and grandmother to twelve. Mrs. Steimle authored six books and is a contributing writer to several online websites. To her, time is the most precious commodity we have and knows we should spend it wisely.
To read more of Valerie's work, visit her at her website, The Blessings of Family Life.
