Courage and Victory

Victory! Through Jesus Christ, our Lord.  Jesus is the reason for everything. All improvement in life, either individual or collective, must come through Him.

In the Book of Mormon there is a story of Nephi and his family traveling for many years in the wilderness. They came to an ocean that they needed to cross. While they had seen ships before, nobody in the family had experience building one. How could they make one that was seaworthy? Nephi was instructed by the Lord how to build one, but his brothers, Laman and Lemuel, didn't believe it was possible. They just wanted to stay where they were and not go on to the Promised Land. It would be safer. Nephi tried to persuade them to go on:

"And it came to pass that I, Nephi, said unto them that they should murmur no more against their father; neither should they withhold their labor from me, for God had commanded me that I should build a ship.

And I said unto them: If God had commanded me to do all things I could do them. If he should command me that I should say unto this water, be thou earth, it should be earth; and if I should say it, it would be done.

And now, if the Lord has such great power, and has wrought so many miracles among the children of men, how is it that he cannot instruct me, that I should build a ship?"  (1 Nephi 17:49-51)

With the Lord's help, Nephi convinced his brothers to help him, and together they built a ship that withstood the storms and took the family safely across the sea to the promised land.

All success, safety, and security come from Jesus. In fact, with the help of the Lord, there is no way we can fail. He gives us the ability to go past what we know, feel, and understand. We can venture out into the darkness or the great unknown with the security of knowing He will help us, that He will always be there, that He has already made sure we will win.

Without Him there is no growth or improvement. We can only do what we already know because that is where our security lies. We will seek security in doing what other people do. Thus, everyone keeps doing the same things and neither the individual nor the group can learn, grow, and live. Part of the decline of a society is the focus on worldly safety and security instead of that of the Lord. This causes people to act out of fear, instead of choosing what is best, or the will of God. Those without faith in the Lord, Jesus Christ, seek for a "government" or some other powerful entity to save them. They always end up trading their freedom for a promise of security, but they never get it. We see this happening in our political arena today.

On the other hand, those who have faith in Christ are those who become the leavening to raise up their generation because they have the ability and security to venture out and do things that others wouldn't do. They are willing to go "outside the box" into paths unknown in spite of disapproval and criticism of men. For example, I do "alternative" medicine. My peers call me a "quack," but I heal diseases they consider "incurable." I am able to do my business because of Him. If not for Him and His assurance of salvation I would take the easy, secure, well-worn path, and continue doing what I learned in medical school -- just like everyone else. My security is in Him so I'm willing to take a lot of risks. As Admiral David Farragut said, "Damn the torpedoes, full speed ahead!" Over time, I see more and more of "us," doctors who are willing to go out on a limb and do what works, instead of what everyone else does. Thus, the population will have more access to healing and everyone is better.

Those who have committed themselves to doing His will, know that there is no way they could lose. They know that if the Lord says it will happen, it will so they can have courage. The knowledge that He died for me gives me power to do anything because I know I will be resurrected. Also, His grace is sufficient for all ills such that even my failures are turned into successes; if I should fall, I can repent and be forgiven, and I will learn and grow in the process. I can go into the line of fire, risking everything because I know the final outcome -- "Victory! victory! Through Him that redeemed us!"