I love the verse in 1 Nephi 17:13 when he says "I will also be your light in the wilderness; and I will prepare the way before you, if it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; wherefore, inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments ye shall be led towards the promised land; and ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led." This verse has great personal application:
- I will be your light in the wilderness: Each of us begins in the wilderness, a place where it's easy to get lost and wander. However, with his light, the way is sure. How many people have been led out of difficult circumstances through "a wilderness"...Moses, Abraham, Lehi, Mulek, Jared, etc.. We each have our own "wilderness".
- I will prepare the way before you: He did so in the case of each name mentioned above. I look back in my life and I'm amazed at how doors seemed to magically open before us in each phase of our life. I'm a living witness that this simple statement is true!
- If it so be that ye shall keep my commandments; This makes the previous statement conditional. When we keep his commandments, he will be our light in the wilderness and prepare the way before us. Do we keep his commandments? How can you and I do better?
- Inasmuch as ye shall keep my commandments, ye shall be led towards the promised land: Using the names listed previously, their "promised land" was different for every one of them. Each were led by the Lord, yet ended up in different places. In our journey through mortality, when we keep his commandments, he will lead US to OUR promised land...whatever and wherever that may be. What's important to understand is that it's conditional upon our obedience. Wherever he leads us will be where he wants us and it will be the best place for us to be.
- And ye shall know that it is by me that ye are led: When we've felt his hand guide us and our family and watched the doors open, when the doors were otherwise closed, we CANNOT deny the guide and the source of the light. We can witness that it was by him that we were led.
During the past 14 years, we have moved around the United States and then moved back to Utah about 1 1/2 years ago. As we look back at our journey (even before the 14 years) it's so plain to see his hand leading us from place to place, even until we've ended up where we are now. In our case, doors open when they were closed. Miracles happened. Some may call it coincidence, I'm well past the point where I call things coincidence.
May we allow the Lord to be our light and guide by keeping his commandments and obeying that voice when we hear or feel it.
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