How does building our lives upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, keep our foundation strong in the “mighty storm” the devil sends to “beat upon [us]”?
"1 And now behold, it came to pass in the commencement of the fortieth year of the reign of the judges over the people of Nephi, there began to be a serious difficulty among the people of the Nephites." (Helaman 1: 1)
"34 And they were lifted up in pride, even to the persecution of many of their brethren. Now this was a great evil, which did cause the more humble part of the people to suffer great persecutions, and to wade through much affliction." (Helaman 3: 34)
"12 And now, my sons, remember, remember that it is upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, that ye must build your foundation; that when the devil shall send forth his mighty winds, yea, his shafts in the whirlwind, yea, when all his hail and his mighty storm shall beat upon you, it shall have no power over you to drag you down to the gulf of misery and endless wo, because of the rock upon which ye are built, which is a sure foundation, a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall." (Helaman 5: 12)
And here's the introduction commentary for this week's reading assignment: August 26–September 1: “The Rock of Our Redeemer” Helaman 1–6
"The book of Helaman records both triumphs and tragedies among the Nephites and Lamanites. It begins with “a serious difficulty among the people of the Nephites” (Helaman 1:1), and the difficulties keep coming throughout the record. Here we read about political intrigue, bands of robbers, rejection of the prophets, and pride and disbelief throughout the land. But we also find examples like Nephi and Lehi and “the more humble part of the people,” who not only survived but thrived spiritually (Helaman 3:34). How did they do it? How did they stay strong while their civilization began to decline and fall apart? The same way any of us stay strong in the “mighty storm” the devil sends to “beat upon [us]”—by building our lives “upon the rock of our Redeemer, who is Christ, the Son of God, … a foundation whereon if men build they cannot fall” (Helaman 5:12)."
We really cannot fall if we are building our lives upon the Rock of our Redeemer, Jesus Christ, the Son of God, because just as a rock is solid and strong and would keep a house built on it strong in the storm, our spiritual foundation is firm and strong if it's built upon the Rock of our Redeemer.
I'm so grateful that this is true with my own spiritual foundation. The mightiest storm that came so far has recently passed (during the Covid pandemic) and it did not destroy my faith. If it did, I wouldn't be studying the words of God and sharing what I'm learning in this blog daily. I'm so grateful that my faith in God remained strong despite the difficult questions that came to my mind because of the situation that I went through. I'm so grateful that I remained prayerful and decided even to trust God more than ever before since I realized God is the only perfect being to whom I can give all my trust. Even seemingly perfect human beings are still subject to committing errors. So, the mightiest storm in my life strengthened my faith in God rather than destroy it. My prayers were even answered in ways that I never could imagine. Miracles happened. I, myself, couldn't make those miracles happen alone. Indeed, the hand of God was there working for me.
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