"Fear Not; I Am With Thee"
by Jean A. Stevens
The title of Sister Stevens talk is taken from one of my favorite scriptures, Isaiah 41:10:
"Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea, I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness."
"Our Father in Heaven reaches out for each of us. . .He has power over all things and desires to help us learn, grow, and return to Him."
A month or so ago, my family was able to participate in a series of what they call "Challenge Courses" up at the Church's Heber Valley Camp. One of the challenges is called "The Wall".
The challenge is to get everyone in your group up and over a 12 foot wall. Two people from the group, once they get themselves up, are allowed to lean over the top to give everyone a hand up.
The lesson this challenge teaches is that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always there for us with Their hands stretched out, reaching out to us, ready to help pull us up and over Life's Walls (difficulties, heartache, etc).
"God is watching over us. We are not alone."
Sister Stevens shares the story of the Gatrell family who's husband and father was diagnosed with an aggressive cancer giving him just weeks to live. Instead of letting this devastate the family, the Gatrell's relied more on the Lord. They reached up and took hold of his stretched out hand, and let Him pull them up and over this trying time in their lives. Sister Venita Gatrell's faith and trust in the Lord were evidenced in her words, "I was carried. I learned that you can feel peace in the midst of turmoil. I knew the Lord was watching over us. If you trust in the Lord, truly you can overcome any of life's challenges."
One of the Gatrell daughter's added: ". . .I would have never asked for this trial, but I would never give it away. We were surrounded with God's love."
We can feel "peace in the midst of the storm."
It is possible to grow in our "ability to trust in the Lord."
We can be "strengthened by [and through] faith in Jesus Christ and in His atoning power."
". . .Whatever our worries and challenges may be, we are not alone. You are not forgotten. . .We can choose to reach for God's hand in our need. We can face our challenges with prayer and trust in the Lord."
Next Week's Talk:
by Linda K. Burton
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