Thurs, Jan 29th: Joseph Smith—History 1:8–17.
Let's talk about expectations. Expectations can mean peace or chaos. Having the mental and emotional tools to calmly and rationally adjust your expectations in any situation can determine how you feel about outcomes. Is that general enough for you?
What expectations do we have for Heavenly Father and the Savior? Here's what expectations I think Joseph had: none, to begin with. Well, maybe providing needs and blessings. After reading James 1:5: an answer. Perhaps an imminent answer, since the idea that he could ask God a question himself, struck him so strongly. But he really had no guideline as to how an answer would come or why it would come. His expectations were few. I think this in one of the reasons such an incredible, world-changing revelation came to him.
So, here we are, with numerous accounts of revelation and the knowledge that we can receive direct answers from God by direct prayer. We have accounts of revelation coming after much physical pain, like Job. Some that come immediately. Some that are initiated by God and some that are initiated by humans. Some revelations come in response to emergency, some come in quiet moments. Some revelations come because we want to serve, some come because Heavenly Father wants us to serve. Unlike Joseph, we have a step by step process as a guide to receiving revelation, but following each step is not necessarily foolproof or failsafe for anyone. There are all sorts of methods and moments of revelations.
So, if revelations come in such variety, perhaps it would be helpful for us to have few expectations. Only that we will be answered. Of course we can tailor our petitions to our needs, but one thing that we've been told is failsafe in asking for revelation, is to include "Thy will be done." We do not know the mind of God, nor do we know the working of the Savior, the atonement. So, we really cannot not help but include "Thy will be done." But we do our part to ask and then wait with wonder for the answer(s) that will come. Perhaps we should begin our petitions for revelations with: help me to recognize the answer(s) and be open to other possibilities and solutions.
I wouldn't say that our expectations should be low. That has sort of a negative connotation. Just few expectations. As our expectations are based on our knowledge, which is miniscule compared to the knowledge held by the being we're petitioning.
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I think this is interesting in light of the whole "The Secret" movement. So many people are teaching "visualize your success and believe in it." I think "The Secret" tells you to ask the universe for what you want and then believe it will happen. It may teach you to take some action in the right direction too. To a point there is nothing wrong with that. There is danger in it though. Too many people replace God with positive thinking. Like you say our positive thinking must be tempered by the answers we receive from our Heavenly Father. We must be humble enough to receive a "no" or "not now" answer. We must be willing to work hard for our miracles too. We must be able to recognize the small miracles that bring to pass great things. And we must have faith in our answers. When God says yes we must believe that mountains can be moved. When he says yes our expectations must be very high -at least as far as results go- His methods are rarely showy.
ReplyDeleteVery well put. I have seen "The Secret" but have not been curious enough to know what "The Secret" is. Having a positive outlook on life and advancement or achievement is so key in survival no matter what you believe about God. But sometimes I think we are afraid to include God in our acheivement because He might tell us we're wrong, or it's going to be hard. I suppose this goes along with thinking that God is love all the time but let's just forget about the just part. We have this natural desire to be independant in everything we do and that if we turn to God we are dependant and cannot claim complete success. If only we can remember that we are co-dependants with God. He depends on us to do a little work for Him and we are dependant on Him for ultimate joy. More joy can be found in working together with Him than claiming your own success.
ReplyDeleteD, I really enjoy your insights, thanks for commenting!