Stay True To The Lord

Stay true to what the Lord has revealed and all will work out to your greatest joy! 

Remember the devil tempts us by the worldly things that we want, and he deceives us into believing that those things are blessings from God.  But only those things that God has said will last forever. 

As you may be aware, I was raised in an abusive home, and was always looking for an escape.  One time I met a lady who taught traditional martial arts and I was soon enrolled in her class.  The lessons consisted a great deal with respect, consideration, kindness, helpfulness, etc.  After a while, as a direct result of the ideals of Traditional Martial Arts of creating a well rounded person, more concerned with developing good character than physical skills, I was able to overcome much of the fear and pain of my abusive childhood.  I knew that God had answered my tears and had provided a surrogate family to teach me good principles. 

It was not long before I had developed skills in the Martial Arts and wanted to open my own school so that I could help others who had been through abuse.  I wanted to serve the Lord and I knew that I could help a lot of people and bring them the gospel at the same time.  Then the time came for me to go on a mission. 

I went to the Lord to gain a testimony so that I would not be preaching on borrowed light, and the Lord did give me that testimony.  I knew that I was to serve the Lord.  Then, wouldn’t you know it, my Sensei offered me the Dojo at an amazing price and that he would stay on and continue to teach me.  This was an amazing opportunity.  It was what I had dreamed of.  It seemed like a great blessing from the Lord.  But it was not from the Lord.  It was the temptation of Satan.  As Jesus was offered a crown to bring peace to all the world, so I was offered a school to help people and spread the gospel.  Yet, I knew the Lord wanted me to serve a mission. 

It is an interesting principle, that after every prompting, inspiration, revelation, or manifestation of the Spirit, the Lord allows for agency, permitting the powers of darkness to test our resolve to the same degree as the manifestation of the Spirit.  At these times quite often the Spirit will also withdraw for a short time, to allow us full agency, as it did with the Saviour on the cross.  Then while in that state, the devil makes his counterfeit offer, dressed in “white”, presented as a better choice, a better blessing from God.  Oh, how many times have I fallen for this counterfeit offer!  Oh, how many times have I lost out on the blessings of my Saviour, the blessings of Eternity, the blessings that might have been mine??? 

This time I chose the Lord’s way.  And after the choice was made, and I followed through and had more than just begun my labours with full commitment, the second witness came.  I knew then that I had indeed made the right choice.  How often it is that the blessing doesn’t come until after the trial of our faith.  Until after we take that leap of Faith.  Until after we actually do what the Lord requests that we do. 

Serving a mission was not easy, nor did it seem as productive as running a school, but it was what the Lord wanted.  The lessons that I learned and the experiences that I had were amazing!  How could I have progressed that far by running a school? 

I know it can be difficult at times to know which blessings are being offered by the Lord, and which are being offered by satan, because satan offers everything we’ve always wanted and packages it to look like a blessing from God. 

Choose the Lord’s way. 

It is not easy, nor is it always what we want, but it will always give us the greatest opportunity for joy in the end. 

Trust in the Lord. 

Trust in the Lord though He slay you. 

Though He slay me, Yet will I trust in Him! 

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