Remembering Him

It’s human nature, I think, to think that sometimes the Lord keeps His answers to us at bay, either to test our patience, to try our endurance, or just because He is God Almighty and we are merely mortal. But these scriptures remind me that He is so loving and so ready to respond to me. When my heart and mind remember Him – when I live like Nephi did, making room for God in my life constantly – the Lord can respond to me.  Immediately! 

Remembering, forgetting, remembering and forgetting — this cycle of human behavior is constant. You remember that you need ginger while you’re grocery shopping; while you’re grocery shopping you forget that you needed ginger. You remember to respond to your friend’s last text; you take your kids to the park and forget to respond to your friend’s last text. You remember to pray; the day rolls on and you forget to take action about the needs for which you prayed.

Most of the time the effect of getting stuck in the “I forgot” half of the cycle is fairly harmless, at least when we’re talking groceries and ginger. But when it comes to the Lord – His commandments, His requests, His guidance – there comes a day of reckoning if we do not return to Him and to “I remember.” Our spirits can wither, our sensitivity to God’s ways can dull, our connection to our Heavenly Father can be cut off. On the flip side, as soon we jump back to the half of mindfulness and pursuance of God and His Gospel, the perfectly responsive power of Jesus Christ is right there.

Nothing has taught me this lesson like Helaman chapter 11 in the Book of Mormon. This chapter spans 14 years, in which the Nephite people jump from remembering to forgetting and back again (and, to their demise, back again) almost with a precision. The prophet at the time, Nephi, was determined to follow Christ and committed to His call as a prophet, and so when he saw the people quickly dying due to war, he plead with God to make a change:

The prophet Nephi, with his pure heart, remembered God and Christ constantly, and so when he requested that the Lord make a huge change in the peoples’ lives, the Lord did it.

And so it was done.

The impact that this example has had on my life has been immense. I learn here that the Lord can respond to me immediately.

It’s human nature, I think, to think that sometimes the Lord keeps His answers to us at bay, either to test our patience, to try our endurance, or just because He is God Almighty and we are merely mortal. But these verses remind me that He is so loving and so willing to respond to me. When my heart and mind remember Him – when I live like Nephi did, making room for God in my life constantly – the Lord can respond to me. Immediately! 

Another example is found a few verses later:

“The people saw that they were about to perish by famine, and they began to remember the Lord their God (verse 7)…When Nephi saw that the people had repented and did humble themselves…he cried unto the Lord again, saying (verse 9)…Now, O Lord, because of their humility, wilt thou turn away thine anger…and cause that this famine may cease… (verses 11-12)

“And the Lord…caused that rain should fall upon the earth.” (verse 17)

Again — committed-to-Christ Nephi asked the Lord to step in and make a change in the people’s lives, and so it was done. When your reasons for asking the Lord to move mountains are right, and when you have done your very best to remember Him daily, He can respond to you. And not just eventually. If it’s right for your life, His answer to your prayer can come immediately.

This is why remembering Him daily is not a burden, it is a blessing. Praying to Him, reading His words, copying His behavior — all that goes into remembering Christ is an investment with guaranteed returns. What a gift. What a blessing.

Please share your thoughts below.

Photo by Bobby Burch on Unsplash