Faith Precedes the Miracle

Spencer W. Kimball said "In faith we plant the seed, and soon we see the miracle of the blossoming. Men have often misunderstood and have reversed the process. They would have the harvest before the planting, the reward before the service, the miracle before the faith…If we can walk now by faith, if we can believe in the rich promises of God, if we can obey and patiently wait, the Lord will fulfill all his rich promises to us:
“… Eye hath not seen, nor ear heard, neither have entered into the heart of man, the things which God hath prepared for them that love him.” (1 Cor. 2:9.).

   With all that is going on in our little corner of the world I have had several thoughts but the one that keeps coming to mind is that we need to remain faithful and keep pressing forward. Everything is going to be OK. If you need more reassurances just listen to Pres. Nelson's message again. I sincerely hope that we have all been doing our part to faithfully follow the Lord's counsel to be prepared, as we have been instructed to do for many decades. Just as the above quote says "faith precedes the miracle." We need to press forward with steadfast faith and know that if we are doing all we can to follow the Lord's counsel the blessings will come.  Just as Noah built the ark long before the flood and Abraham went to sacrifice his son before the ram appeared, we too need to have enough faith to do ALL the Lord has asked of us so that we too may eventually see the "miracle of the blossoming."  

   One other thing that has come to mind is, how is your family doing emotionally? Emotional stability and security are just as important as our physical well being and will go a long way to helping us live in harmony as a family during this time. Something I actually did with my family last night was to sit down with them and let each person have their turn to express any emotions and concerns that they were feeling.  We did it one at a time and allowed each person to just lay it all out and then as parents we acknowledged what they said and tried to allay any fears. It definitely helped our family and things have returned to a more "normal" state here.  What are some thing you are doing as a family to get through these situations? 

"Indomitable faith can help us live the commandments with a willing heart and thereby bring blessings unnumbered, with peace, perfection, and exaltation in the kingdom of God." (Teachings of Presidents of the Church: Spencer W. Kimball, Chapter 13: Obedience Born of Faith in God; pg. 143.)