The Power of Faith
One year in college, I was taking a test when my neck began to hurt. The pain didn’t go away when the tension of the test had passed. I consulted with doctors and therapists and tried a variety of treatments, but still the pain continued. Over the next year, as I struggled to cope with this pain, I also struggled to increase my faith. I spent much time in prayer, I studied the scriptures, and I asked for priesthood blessings. I felt that if I just had enough faith, I would be healed.
Jesus Christ healed the sick, the blind, the lame, the leprous—“according to [their] faith” (Matthew 9:29). I knew He had the power to heal me as He had so many others during His mortal life. I concluded, therefore, that only my lack of faith kept me from being healed, so I redoubled my efforts. While I continued with physical therapy, I prayed and fasted and studied and believed. Yet my pain persisted.
The scriptures teach us that with faith we can work miracles (see Matthew 17:20), yet I could not be relieved of this minor suffering. Where was the power in my faith? Finally, I quietly accepted my situation, found ways to cope with my discomfort, and became content to save full understanding of faith and healing for a future time.
Years later I was talking with a friend who had struggled with terrible nausea that had sent her to the hospital more than once during her first pregnancy. Erin wanted to have another baby, but she was terrified that she would have to endure the same discomforts she had faced with her first pregnancy. She told me that she had been fasting and praying and that she really believed Heavenly Father would not ask that of her a second time.
As we talked, I recalled the scripture, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). I thought of my own experience in learning to be still in the midst of affliction and urged Erin to continue to have faith but not to make that faith dependent on whether or not she experienced nausea with her next pregnancy.
As I continued to study the principle of faith, I turned to Alma’s discourse on faith in which he teaches that “if ye have faith ye hope for things which are not seen, which are true” (Alma 32:21).
Pondering this scripture, I discovered that faith wasn’t what I thought it was. Faith, Alma teaches us, is hope in true principles. To have faith does not mean we believe our Heavenly Father will always give us what we ask for when we ask for it. Having faith that Christ would heal my neck or that He would grant Erin a nausea-free pregnancy is not having faith in true principles. However, we can have faith that Christ has the power to heal, that He is mindful of us, that He will strengthen us, and that if we endure well, we may qualify for eternal life.
The Lord promised, “Whatsoever thing ye shall ask in faith, believing that ye shall receive in the name of Christ, ye shall receive it” (Enos 1:15). I believe the power in this promise lies in the counsel to believe “in the name of Christ.” The Bible Dictionary entry on prayer teaches us: “We pray in Christ’s name when our mind is the mind of Christ, and our wishes the wishes of Christ—when His words abide in us (John 15:7). We then ask for things it is possible for God to grant. Many prayers remain unanswered because they are not in Christ’s name at all; they in no way represent His mind but spring out of the selfishness of man’s heart.”
When we ask in faith for something that is in accordance with the will of God, He will grant us according to our desires. Heavenly Father knows us, loves us, and desires everything necessary for us to return to His presence. And sometimes that includes trials, troubles, and challenges (see 1 Peter 1:7). If Heavenly Father were to free us from our challenges simply because we asked, He would deny us the very experiences necessary for our salvation. We must learn to trust in God’s plan for us and submit our will to His. As we align our desires with His desires and acknowledge our complete dependence on Him, we may qualify to receive “the end of [our] faith, even the salvation of [our] souls” (1 Peter 1:9).
I loved this article. In the past, I've been really confused and frustrated when it seems like everyone in church who gets up to bear their testimony or people giving talks always PROMISE us that if we read our scriptures and pray daily, then everything will be all better right away.. The more I've heard this, the more my faith has decreased because I think, "But I'm doing that and it's not working! I'm praying and studying my scriptures every single day, but I'm still sick!"
But this talk explains perfectly what it really means to have faith and I wish we were taught this more in church. When I align my will with God's will and have an eternal perspective, suddenly it doesn't matter at all that I'm sick or that I don't know exactly how or when I'll get better. What matters most are the relationships in my life.. am I nice to my family? Do I serve and love them and strengthen my relationship with each of them? Am I a true disciple of Christ? Do I endure to the end and follow the principles of the gospel? Am I selfless? If I do these things, then no matter what challenges are thrown my way, as long as my will is aligned with God's will, I will qualify for eternal life which is the only thing that really matters, not what my current problems are. It would be so nice to not have to be sick or deal with this trial, but everyone has trials for a reason: to help us learn and grow and as long as I endure to the end and have true faith, then everything really will be ok.
(I should mention.. this obviously isn't what everyone in the world believes, it's just what I personally believe.)
Health update:
I got my wisdom teeth taken out a week and a half ago. I was feeling sick the few days before the surgery and pretty bad the morning of, but still went so I wouldn't have to reschedule for the 3rd time.. Greatest experience EVER. haha The laughing gas and drugs they put me on slowly took ALL the pain out of my body and made me feel so good and relaxed. I was on strong pain meds for about 5 days after and I was in heaven.. I forgot what it felt like to have absolutely NO feeling in my stomach, chest, or head. Even on my "good" days now, there's still something off in my head or I feel queasy and sick at some point during the day, but I felt NOTHING. It was amazing.
I totally knew the day I stopped taking the pain meds, I would probably feel AWFUL again especially since I was taking antibiotics (which basically reverse my candida cleanse..) and I did. I had I think 3 or 4 days of feeling pretty dang awful.. The first day I was in bed all day which was hard because I HATE sitting all day long.. Even if I don't feel great, I'm always moving and working on something all day long. I can't ever sit and watch tv all day. So it stunk, but I tried to remember how great I felt during my wisdom teeth recovery to motivate me to be able to feel that great again someday.. (not high obviously, but just not having any gross feeling anywhere in my body and feeling good and energetic haha) I read The Help this week and loved it so much, so that was fun and helped me have a good week.
Oh the weather has been AMAZING here in Utah so I've been spending a ton of time outside whether it's a bike ride, walk to the park with Jersey, walk around the lake, exploring Utah parks and canyons (if I'm feeling really good), or just sitting on our front porch reading. I love our porch.. I always wanted one. It's the best.
So I started feeling a lot better after those few days feeling sick and I went and bought an expensive but highly recommended (by my doctor and lots of online reviews) probiotic that I started taking a few days and it seems to be making a difference so that's good. I'm trying to be better with my diet-- LESS fruit.. that's my biggest problem right now. fruit is the sweetest thing I can have in my diet (I haven't had any sugar, honey, agave for months) so I tend to eat a lot more fruit than I'm allowed cuz I hate only eating bland things all day and am always craving SOMETHING a little sweeter! But if I want to get rid of this candida, I HAVE to eliminate fruit out of my diet.. not going to be easy.. but I'm so done being sick.
So yeah, I was feeling pretty good and improving every day the past 4-5 days, but then yesterday I made these "candida diet chocolates" with cacao powder, coconut oil, stevia, and vanilla and ate like 6 and was so sick last night.. ? Like what the heck? I didn't fall asleep until 4am and was just laying on the ground next to the bathroom for hours watching TV because I felt like I had the stomach flu.. but I didn't so I have no idea if it was the chocolates that made me sick? But they shouldn't have since it's ingredients I'm allowed to eat but maybe because I ate too many or because I added things into my diet I haven't had before?? I have NO clue, but I felt SO sick and I'm feeling a lot better this morning, but still like I got hit by a truck so I will be spending the day relaxing at home.
My plan is to take these supplements my doctor has me on for my vitamin deficiencies: (MonoDEA, vitamin D, cytozyme, armor thyroid), take this probiotic every day, Be better with my diet, and try Diatomaceous Earth to kill candida.
I'm excited for this new month, I've done more research, thought about the things I need to improve on, I have my plan ready and I'm hopeful that this will hopefully be a great month. :)
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