Act instead of Acted Upon

One of the ways I have most come to know my God and to feel his hand in my life is when things are not going exactly the way I want them to. We, as human beings, have a tendency to get mad or frustrated when things are not going exactly as we would like them to. I have seen this so many times in my life, that whenever things are not going how I had planned I begin to feel easily irritated, quick to anger, quick to judge and quick to blame, and I would imagine that most of you experience similar feelings when things aren't going the way we had originally planned.

Jesus Christ to me is the supreme example of someone who didn't have a whole lot going right for him near the end of his life, and yet didn't let himself give in to these natural human emotions that all the rest of us would feel. He was betrayed (Mark 14:10); his apostles abandoned and denied him (Luke 22:57-60); he was mocked and spit upon (Luke 22:63); he was scourged (John 19:1); and he was crucified (Luke 23:33). Yet at the end of it all, was he bitter, angry or even judgmental? Not in the least. Amazingly, he even went as far as to plead with God to forgive them of what they had done (Luke 23:34). 

One of the many traits that Christ possessed that I would like to focus on right now, one of the reasons he was able to act in this way, was because Christ was a person who chose to act rather than be acted upon. I recently read a story in a book entitled "The Ultimate Missionary Companion", by Ed. J. Pinegar, that went something like this (paraphrased):

"I once was walking through town with my friend and he paused to go pick up a newspaper. The man from whom he bought the newspaper was very grumpy, and did not even acknowledge my friends cheery "Thank you!" 

"That man isn't having a very good day," I said. 

"Oh he's always like that!" Responded my friend.

"Why do you continue to be kind and cheery to him when he treats you so badly every time you see him?" I asked in bewilderment.

"Why should I let him decide how I'm going to act?" 

I learned an important lesson from my friend that day; he was a person that chose to act, rather than be acted upon."

The other day I was feeling a little weighed down by all the work and sorrow I am seeing around me (I'm sure many of you can relate.) I felt a little helpless and overburdened, and didn't know what to do. I eventually decided to pray, to act instead of letting all of these things continue to act upon me, and I can testify to all of you that God does hear and answer every one of our prayers. He gave me the strength and determination to go on, and helped me to turn what had seemed like a hopeless situation into a great blessing in my life.

My prayer to each one of you is that we can learn to act in our daily lives instead of being people who are simply acted upon. When we feel weighed down by sorrows, worries, cares, responsibilities, or anything else in this life, instead of continuing to feel these things, we can choose to act. We can choose to call upon God in prayer, to uplift and encourage another, to look for the good in our lives and in the lives of others, to search for the hand of God in every moment of every day that we are blessed with here on this earth. That we can all begin to act and to make every day a great day instead of letting it happen to us is my invitation to each one of you.

Be Still My Soul

Today I'm going to share a story about how God can calm our hearts and soothe our souls when we feel stressed or unhappy. The other day my companion and I were waiting outside of an appointment that we had, waiting for the person to get home. The whole day had been like this; people weren't home, people didn't want to listen to a message that could change their lives for the better, and I was feeling a little down and frustrated. I sat down on the stairs next to his apartment and started to wait to see if he would come back. As I was sitting there, I realized that I was feeling irritated and a little angry that all these things had happened, and I certainly was not in the right frame of mind or spirit to share a message from God about how the Gospel of Christ can bless families. I said a prayer to try and help regain the spirit that is so essential when we teach and testify of Christ and of our Heavenly Father. After the prayer, I had an urge to begin softly humming while thinking the words to one of my favorite hymns, Be Still My Soul, which goes like this (for the music, visit Be Still My Soul:

1. 1. Be still, my soul: The Lord is on thy side;
      With patience bear thy cross of grief or pain.
      Leave to thy God to order and provide;
      In ev'ry change he faithful will remain.
      Be still, my soul: Thy best, thy heav'nly Friend
      Thru thorny ways leads to a joyful end.
   2. Be still, my soul: Thy God doth undertake
      To guide the future as he has the past.
      Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;
      All now mysterious shall be bright at last.
      Be still, my soul: The waves and winds still know
      His voice who ruled them while he dwelt below.

   Be still, my soul: The hour is hast'ning on
   When we shall be forever with the Lord,
   When disappointment, grief, and fear are gone,
   Sorrow forgot, love's purest joys restored.
   Be still, my soul: When change and tears are past,
   All safe and blessed we shall meet at last.

   
   

As I sang, I felt such a sense of love and peace it was almost overwhelming. I could feel God comforting and consoling me, helping me to understand that he was there for me even though things weren't working out exactly like I wanted them to at that moment. We all have times in our lives where we feel tired, sad, scared, worried and more, but God is always there for us in these moments, if we will but turn to him with our hearts and try to recognize the hand of God in our lives. I've seen this principle over and over in my life as I have remembered to call upon him, and he has never let me down. What are some ways that you have felt the calming and uplifting power of God in your lives?

Tools in the Lord's Hands

(Click here for video)

I saw this video the other day and it really made me think. We all have our own problems in our lives, our own personal challenges that we face every single day. It can be extremely difficult to think about anything other than the present situation sometimes, especially with some of the trials that we face every single day. However, something we need to realize is that the number one way that God works in our lives here on this earth is through others. And if we're not willing to reach out to others, how can we expect that they'll be willing to reach out to us?

Up to this point I've been writing about how I've seen the Hand of God in my life, and how I know God is real and that he loves me, but today, since it's Christmas Eve, I'd like to talk about how we can be the hand of God for others in their lives.

 Every single day we pass people in need; we pass people who are hungry, cold, depressed, worried, lonely, worried, scared, abused, and the list goes on and on. It is so easy to get wrapped up in our own little world, worries, doubts and fears, and let all of these opportunities to be more Christlike pass by. What we need is a little more perspective, and a little more of the love of God in our hearts.

These past several months that I have been serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints, I have constantly been looking for service opportunities, and I can't even begin to say how many service opportunities I've had. Helping take groceries up the stairs; holding the door open for someone on the train or bus; helping someone find some food; helping move someone or paint their house; and most importantly, bringing them the word of God. Many times when I have had these experiences, I have heard people say "wow, God's watching out for me!" "I'm so glad God sent you!" and many other things such as that. It is truly humbling to be able to be a tool in God's hand here on the earth, and the level of happiness and joy it brings is incredible.

Now, why is this important? Because the thing is, every one of us can have these experiences every single day. Go out and give some service, try to make the world a little brighter, ease somebody's burden, and you will begin to feel the happiness and joy that comes from being the hands of God here on the earth. This Christmas, and every other day of the year, give Christ the gift that matters most of all; the gift of Christlike service, of love for your fellowman. 

37 Then shall the righteous answer him, saying, Lord, when saw we thee an hungred, and fed thee? or thirsty, and gave thee drink?

38 When saw we thee a stranger, and took thee in? or naked, and clothed thee?

39 Or when saw we thee asick, or in prison, and came unto thee?

40 And the King shall answer and say unto them, Verily I say unto you, Inasmuch as ye have adone it unto one of the bleast of these my cbrethren, ye have done it unto me. 

(Matthew 25:37-40)

God controls the traffic

When we think of God, we think of an all-powerful, almighty and all-knowing being, who has power over the elements, earth and sky, and rightly so, because he is. But sometimes we forget that he has control over the small things as well. Have you ever thought about the fact that God controls the traffic? Allow me to share a couple examples...
The other day we were running a little behind for a doctor's appointment in Manhattan. It wasn't a big thing, but we were on the local D train from the Bronx, and it was making a LOT of stops. However, I said a quick prayer that we would arrive on time, and the very next stop the man driving the train said "Hey! We're going express people, here we go!" and the train turned into an express train, arriving more than 20 minutes earlier than it would have otherwise.

The next one is that I can't even count the number of times I have prayed for a bus to arrive to help us get to appointments on time and it has. There is a bus stop pretty close to where we live that never comes on time unless I say a prayer. And every time I do, without fail, we arrive at our destination on time.
Finally, late at night one time we were relatively far from where we lived and had to get back at a certain time, so we decided to take the bus. However, a young man that we had with us decided he had to use the bathroom right as the bus was supposed to arrive. Knowing that we couldn't leave him there far from his home late at night, I said a prayer that God would slow the bus down this time. I'll let you guess what happened-- that's right, the bus pulled up right as he got out of the building and ran up to the bus stop.

These are just a few of the experiences I've had recently with the hand of God in my life! In what ways have you seen it recently?

How God saved my life

So I'd just like to start off my posts by sharing the story in my life that has showed me the Hand of God in my life more than any other; the story of how God saved my life.

A couple years ago I was visiting my friends in California for about 10 days of fun and relaxing in the sun. We spent the whole time relaxing on the beach, playing games and simply enjoying each other's company. The entire time was filled with fun with absolutely no worries or cares; until the last day.

About 3 hours before my plane was set to leave and take me back to Utah, we were enjoying a few last precious moments surfing on the beach. Everything was all fun and games until I rode a huge wave directly into the shore, head first. After a few moments of blinding pain, I was able to crawl out of the water, where my friend had been watching the whole thing. Despite my pathetic protests, after a brief evaluation they called the ambulance and drove me to the emergency room.


After some quick scans they found out that I had torn some ligaments in my neck and would need a few weeks in a neck brace. While this was certainly not fun, I was glad to simply have movement in my body. They informed me that many people became paralyzed from this same injury. I felt blessed that God had preserved me and had allowed me this opportunity to recover.


However, on my return to Utah, upon closer evaluation of the scans, they found something that they had not expected; a cancerous tumor was growing near my brain.


Preparations were quickly made to operate and remove it before it could cause any more damage. The doctors informed me of how lucky I was to have had the accident, because if it had grown big enough for me to begin showing symptoms it would have been too late, and it would have killed me. They called it luck, but I knew it was something more: the hand of God guiding and protecting me.








After a successful operation I was put through 9 months of chemotherapy, most definitely the longest 9 months of my life. While this was by far the hardest thing I have ever been through, I have come through it with the knowledge that God lives and that he loves and knows every one of us. I can't even begin to describe how many prayers I had answered and how many tender mercies of the Lord I received; one time when I was feeling very sick and the only thing that sounded good to eat was blueberries, I prayed and one of the men in my neighborhood brought me blueberries. Another time I was bored and tired of being in the hospital for two weeks straight and one of the workers brought me a Nintendo Wii to play with. Hundreds of similar small but meaningful experiences during this time showed me that God is there and that his hand is in every aspect of our lives, even when we don't take the time to recognize it.

I am now happy and healthy and completely cancer free, and I know I am only here today because the hand of God was guiding and protecting me. While maybe not all of you have experiences quite this extreme with the hand of God picking you up and slamming you into the sand to get you to the doctor, I'm sure you all have experiences where you have seen his hand in your life. I would invite you to share your experiences; you never know whose life your story may touch.

What is this?

Hey, my name is Elder Nathan Powell and I am currently serving as a missionary for the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. I've been noticing recently that a lot of the time when you read something that someone has posted online, it is very negative and cynical, and very few people have anything inspiring and uplifting to say. Now I don't know about inspiring, but I know that I have experiences every single day that are very uplifting and encouraging that show me without a doubt that God is real and that he cares about me. I've felt for a while now that I should take the time to make a blog to record and to share these things that he does for me on a daily basis to help share this knowledge with the world, and looks like it's finally happening! If anyone who reads this page has any questions, comments, doubts, concerns, stories or whatever else, feel free to post or message me, or check out the websites below. Thank you for your time, remember to watch for the hand of God in your life today!