¶And Samuel grew, and the Lord was with him, and did let none of his words fall to the ground.I was instantly thrilled when I read the words, "...and did let none of His words fall to the ground." (To show respect, I changed the "h" to "H".) I thought, "What a great challenge that sentence is for each of us! If everyone could daily make a conscious effort not to let any of the Lord's words fall to the ground, we would be much happier!"
I'm guessing that every single one of us lets too many of the Lord's wonderful words fall to the ground every day. Yet we all have the opportunity to catch, to hold tight, to cherish, to listen to, and follow the words we have been given by the Lord—just like the prophet Samuel did.
This thought reminds me of another set of my favorite scripture verses found in Amos 8:11-12:
It might seem funny that I love those verses, but I love them because they illustrate just how privileged and blessed we are to have His words! Those of us who choose to seek the words of the Lord can find them anytime we want! We literally have unlimited access to His words through the scriptures, and our modern-day prophets. Oh, how I love the scriptures! They fill my soul with a light that I can't describe (even though I know that wonderful feeling is the Holy Ghost testifying to me that the words I'm reading are true).
I've had numerous experiences where I've received direct answers to my prayers through reading the scriptures. Each and every time I've received an answer via the scriptures, I've initially been shocked beyond belief, but then I've cried tears of joy as I've realized that my prayers are heard.
By the way, my church's scriptures include:
There are some other aspects of "letting words fall to the ground" that I would like to discuss.
We should do our best to listen to, or read (letters, notes, emails, texts), the words of the people in our lives, for everyone has the right to express themselves. And I'm talking about people we actually know, have a relationship with, or have revolving face-to-face contact. I'm not trying to be rude to the people we don't know, I'm just saying that there are simply too many billions of people in the world for us to try and listen to everyone! Ha ha.
That said, how many times have we experienced word trash? (Yeah, I just invented that phrase! I'm hoping it will catch on! Seriously, share it with your people!) I'm talking about when someone has purposely or cluelessly spoken unkind words to us. It's during those hard/sad/frustrating times when we should try our very best not to be offended. As hard as it is to do, we can't let mean words negatively affect us. We should be like ducks and let those unhelpful words roll off our backs and splash into the water! :)
*I'm still working on that idea, for I have a very tender heart. Try as I might, I often struggle when other people's words aren't as kind as they should be. Yes, I need to not let word trash make me feel yucky!
I would absolutely love it if everyone would speak good words all the time. I believe we should not speak words that would be worthy of "falling to the ground." Every word we speak should be worth catching and holding on to! :)
Not to mention, we must be aware that whatever words we speak or write will be there forever. We can't take our words back! Even when we apologize profusely, we can't guarantee that everyone involved in our words will forgive us, and chances are they will never forget either. Therefore, we need to be careful with the words we speak or write. We must live authentically and own our words, for they will be attached to us no matter what. *Um, yeah, I've learned that lesson the hard way. Please learn from me, and don't make the same mistake!
Also, we need to teach our children to use quality words at all times. For whatever words they learn while they are young, will most likely stay with them throughout their lives. *I know it's nearly impossible to have children who speak well all of the time. I'm simply saying that it's worth us being vigilant in our efforts to teach our children the value of using top-notch words.
All of that said, I know there are times when it's necessary for us to speak the truth—even though sometimes the truth hurts. If we try our best to share the truth with love and kindness, hopefully our words will be well received. If our words are not received well, and we know we've done our best to be kind, then the problem most likely lies with the recipient of our words. This idea reminds me of another one of my favorite scriptures found in 1 Nephi 16:2!
I hope we will all seek out and use the best words...words that inspire us to do good continually! (Mosiah 5:2) :) Let's catch all the words that benefit us, and put them in a beautiful "chest" for safe keeping. Then, when we are feeling down in the word-trash dumps, we can go to our lovely word chest, open it up, and relish in the delightful and satisfying words we've gathered to make our souls feel light and happy. :)
Above all else, let's actively study the words of our Heavenly Father and His Son, Jesus Christ, and keep them at the forefront of our lives. Let's continually guard Their words and never let them fall to the ground!
Excellent post! Thanks for sharing.
ReplyDeleteThank you, Karen! I appreciate your support. :) Sorry for not responding sooner, I forgot I had comments!
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