For Times of Trouble

For the last few weeks I've been reading For Times of Trouble by Elder Holland.

In the book he breaks down Psalms, and applies them to our lives and trials.

Here are some select words from Elder Holland that have jumped out at me:

"We may not hear His answers, or we may not recognize His answers if we do hear them, and in some cases we may not like His answers even though we say we trust Him.  In those moments especially, we must remember He is a "shield".  And one of the things we need to be shielded against is ourselves.  We must constantly be reminded that He is God and we are not.  So when we have a choice between His view of our need and our own, we must yield to His divine view and His divine love."

"How wonderful is it in such times to have a rock to lean on, or a high tower to flee to.  How wonderful it is when our foot is slipping or our faith is sliding to know that there is something firm and immovable- something solid- that can shore us up and stabilize our uneasiness."

"When we allow God to come into our lives (or we are wise enough to come into His) He 'enlarges our steps' for the path we must walk- or, in more modern language, He gives us bigger feet that do not slip."

"You cannot lift another soul until you are standing on higher ground than he is.  You must be sure, if you would rescue the man, that you yourself are setting the example of what you would have him be."

"To verbalize something is to give it life, so when we speak of our blessings aloud, the reality of them becomes more obvious, more powerful, more permanent.  This is why it is so important not to verbalize negative feelings and fears habitually.  To give them undue expression is to give them a life they do not deserve."

"It is encouraging to know there is virtually nothing we can do that would ever put us permanently beyond the reach of His mercy and His redemption.  His kindness will not be taken from us.  His faithfulness will not fail. He will not break His promises, and He has promised to stand by us forever and, if we wish it, to redeem our souls from sin."

"The most courageous stand we can take is just that- to stand, to be patient, to be still, to believe that there will be victory even if the victory is not to come now.  Be of good courage.  The Lord will strengthen thy heart."