2 Kings 18:22

What does prosperity look like for you? How would you like to prosper wherever you go? How has the Lord sustained you in challenging times?

"22 But if ye say unto me, We trust in the Lord our God: is not that he, whose high places and whose altars Hezekiah hath taken away, and hath said to Judah and Jerusalem, Ye shall worship before this altar in Jerusalem?" (2 Kings 18:22)

And here's the introductory commentary for this week's reading assignment: July 13–19: “He Trusted in the Lord God of Israel” 2 Kings 16–25: 

"Despite the prophet Elisha’s powerful ministry, the people of the Northern Kingdom of Israel did not repent. Eventually, the Assyrian Empire conquered and scattered the ten tribes of Israel. Meanwhile, the Southern Kingdom of Judah wasn’t doing much better: idolatry was also widespread there.

Amid all this spiritual decay, the scriptures mention two kings of Judah who, for a time, turned their people back to the Lord. One was Hezekiah. During his reign, the Assyrians conquered much of Judah. But Hezekiah and his people showed faith in the Lord, who saved Jerusalem in a miraculous way. Later, after another period of apostasy, Josiah became king. Inspired in part by a rediscovery of the book of the law of Moses, Josiah brought reforms that revived the religious life of his people.

Like Israel and Judah, we all make both good and bad choices. When we sense that our lives need some reforms, we can take encouragement from these two bright spots in the dark years of Judah’s history. Perhaps the examples of Hezekiah and Josiah can inspire us to “trust in the Lord our God” (2 Kings 18:22)."

Elder Jörg Klebingat said in his talk entitled "Valiant Discipleship in the Latter Days": "With faith in Christ, we need not fear the reproach of men or be afraid of their revilings. With the Savior at the helm and living prophets to lead and guide us, “who can be against us?” Let us be confident, not apologetic, valiant, not timid, faithful, not fearful as we hold up the Lord’s light in these last days."

As valiant disciples of Christ, we would truly want to prosper wherever we go. We want progress. And when we are confident, valiant, and faithful as we hold up the Lord's light in these last days, we will prosper indeed!

There are many places online where we can go and hold up the Lord's light. I've decided to go to where I can truly hold up the Lord's light and make a difference in many people's lives. I renamed one of my YouTube channels so it's more focused on sharing the scripture passages I would find as I study the Come, Follow Me lesson assignment. It is now called: "FAITH ONE VERSE AT A TIME". You might want to check it out and be inspired by the selected passages that I found inspiring. When you click the video I shared in this blog post, you'll be right in my channel. Click this link if you want to go there now: https://www.youtube.com/@lhaimonteroa7775

The Lord has been sustaining me in challenging times in different aspects of my life. I shared in my blog posts here in blogger some of those challenges. I'm so grateful that the Lord has continually been sustaining me in every challenge I face. He helped me rise above the challenge of regular scripture study through writing blog posts here in blogger. Studying the scriptures daily became my habit because of doing this blog. Now I am stepping up as I move to YouTube, using more of the capacities God has given me, like the ability to design my scripture passage videos, to hold up the Lord's light higher than ever before.