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Do What You Can, Give God the Rest: Trusting God When You Can't Control Life · ToddTalks--Spirit By Design: Your Weekly Survival Guide

0:32
Todd: Let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power.
0:37
Todd: That is verse 17 out of DNC 123.
0:42
Todd: We're gonna delve into that in just a moment.
0:46
Todd: This is Todd Talks, Spirit by Design, where I help you design your spiritual life in order to prepare you for the second coming of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ.
0:58
Todd: So DNC 123 follows on the Refiner's Fire chapters through one of 121 and 122.
1:08
Todd: After receiving profound revelation about suffering, divine justice, and eternal perspective, Joseph turns toward what the saints, that would be us, must do.
1:20
Todd: In verse 17, as I already said, let us cheerfully do all things that lie in our power.
1:28
Todd: That verse continues by teaching that we can stand still and see the salvation of God.
1:38
Todd: Notice the order that we're told to do things in.
1:42
Todd: First, do all things that lie in our power.
1:47
Todd: Second, trust God with what lies outside of our power.
1:52
Todd: That's an essential principle of mature faith.
1:57
Todd: You know, sometimes we use the language of trusting God to avoid responsibilities that are ours to fulfill.
2:06
Todd: Yeah, other religions, Islam, for instance, has that, other cultures called inshallah, as God wills it.
2:16
Todd: No.
2:18
Todd: Yes, as God wills it, but no, when you have controls and you have responsibilities, take action.
2:27
Todd: Do your part.
2:28
Todd: We pray for a better marriage, but refuse to have the difficult conversations.
2:35
Todd: We pray for financial relief, but refuse to examine our spending.
2:39
Todd: We pray for spiritual strength, but refuse to establish habits that nourish our faith.
2:44
Todd: We pray for new opportunity, but refuse to prepare ourselves for it.
2:49
Todd: I may have said this part of this in my last episode.
2:53
Todd: We pray for reconciliation while refusing to acknowledge that our own contribution to the conflict is the major portion.
3:02
Todd: Faith does not require us to control every outcome, but it requires us to act responsibly within our sphere of influence.
3:12
Todd: When I was teaching the Afghans, I've shared this story before.
3:19
Todd: I set it up, put him at pattern altitude, doing touch and goes around the runway, failed his engine, one of his two engines, and the airplane will fly just fine all the way to the crash site on one engine.
3:37
Todd: This was in Afghanistan.
3:40
Todd: It was 45 degrees Celsius outside.
3:44
Todd: In order to go around the pattern on one engine, you had to push up your power, use your rudder, and actually tighten your turn into the dead engine, because if you didn't, with a single engine, your pattern would be wider.
4:09
Todd: And at pattern altitude, if you flew a wide pattern, there was a hill that you would crash into.
4:16
Todd: And so many times the Afghans would sit there and do nothing.
4:28
Todd: And when I said, Are you going to turn?
4:31
Todd: They said, Inshallah.
4:34
Todd: And I was like, no.
4:37
Todd: No, you have controls.
4:40
Todd: You have a brain, and he wills you to use it and to move the controls and keep the airplane in safe parameters.
4:51
Todd: So just like you can't control the weather and you can't control mechanical failures, like the wing, the air, the engine, sorry, that I shut off, you can turn the airplane and keep it a safe distance from the runway while coming around to land on said runway.
5:16
Todd: That same principle applies to discipleship.
5:21
Todd: You can pray, you can repent, you can serve, you can seek counsel, you can make difficult decisions, you can ask for help, you can work to correct an injustice.
5:31
Todd: All these things pray, repent, serve, seek, make decisions, take action.
5:41
Todd: They're all about us doing our part.
5:45
Todd: We must learn to surrender the outcomes that we cannot command over to God, but take responsibility for those actions and decisions that we do have power over.
5:59
Todd: This is not a guarantee that everything will work out alright or turn out as we wish.
6:05
Todd: He answered them, but the answer was no.
6:15
Todd: Right?
6:16
Todd: So consider three questions when you face a trial.
6:20
Todd: What is within my responsibility to address?
6:24
Todd: What help, counsel, or resources do I need to act wisely?
6:29
Todd: And what must I entrust to God because it because it is beyond my control?
6:34
Todd: That is the practical way to live Doctrine Covenants 123.17.
6:41
Todd: And I left off the one part.
6:43
Todd: The first thing he tells us to do, he says to cheerfully do all things that we need to do.
6:55
Todd: Cheerfully.
6:56
Todd: And he actually says that throughout your trials, you can find happiness.
7:05
Todd: Faithful discipleship means taking responsibility for our choices while entrusting God with the outcomes we cannot dictate.
7:16
Todd: In DNC 124, what comes after the refiner's fire?
7:22
Todd: There's an important historical distinction here.
7:26
Todd: In sections 121 to 123, Joseph Smith wrote during Liberty Jail Imprisonment in March 1839.
7:34
Todd: Section 124 he received in Nauvoo, Illinois on January 19, 1841.
7:41
Todd: After the saints had left Missouri, they'd been kicked out.
7:45
Todd: It was not originally part of the Liberty Jail Revelation.
7:52
Todd: But I include it because it offers an important continuation of the story.
7:59
Todd: The saints did not remain in Missouri.
8:04
Todd: They left Missouri and established their community in Illinois.
8:08
Todd: They were kicked out.
8:10
Todd: The work continued.
8:12
Todd: The road ahead would bring further sacrifices and trials.
8:16
Todd: In DNC 124, the Lord gave instructions concerning the saints' new community, the building of a house under his name, a temple, and the responsibilities as a covenant people.
8:28
Todd: It included a command to build a temple.
8:33
Todd: We are a temple-building people, and taught about the blessings associated with sacred ordinances and covenant worship.
8:41
Todd: So let's contrast that with Liberty Jail.
8:45
Todd: In Liberty Jail, Joseph was physically confined in a place he did not choose.
8:50
Todd: In Nau, the saints were instructed to build a place dedicated to the Lord.
8:55
Todd: Remember, I called Liberty Jail a temple of sorts because of how close Joseph came to the Lord through the trials he suffered there.
9:07
Todd: The contrast is not simply between a prison and a temple, it's between the limitations of a painful season and the continuing responsibility to build something sacred with the life that God has given us.
9:24
Todd: Any of you who have walked through a difficult chapter of your life can see a lesson here.
9:32
Todd: At some point, we may ask what comes next.
9:36
Todd: We can't always change what happened to us, and I don't think we should or would.
9:41
Todd: We can't recover every lost opportunity.
9:45
Todd: We can't make every person apologize.
9:48
Todd: We can't guarantee that we will never experience another disappointment.
9:52
Todd: But we can decide what we will build from here.
9:56
Todd: Will we build a life around resentment?
9:59
Todd: Will we be trapped in the past?
10:03
Todd: Will we allow an old betrayal to dictate every future relationship?
10:09
Todd: Will we use a past failure as evidence that we should never try again?
10:14
Todd: You all know people like this.
10:16
Todd: Maybe that you are somebody like this that has been struggling to get out of the past and to move forward.
10:25
Todd: Or will we begin building something that reflects our faith, our values, and our relationship with Jesus Christ?
10:33
Todd: For one person, that may mean rebuilding a marriage with humility and appropriate boundaries.
10:39
Todd: For another, it may mean developing new skills after losing a career.
10:43
Todd: For another, it may mean serving someone who is experiencing the kind of loneliness that they once knew.
10:52
Todd: For someone else, it might mean returning to prayer or scripture reading after a long season of spiritual discouragement.
11:01
Todd: The point, the important point, is not that every loss will be replaced with something identical, or that every painful experience will lead to visible triumph in this life.
11:12
Todd: That's not the point.
11:15
Todd: The point is that suffering does not have to become the final chapter in our spiritual development.
11:21
Todd: We continue to build, to worship, to serve, to become more like Christ in spite of the painful chapters of our life.
11:30
Todd: Sometimes the most important evidence of spiritual refinement is not that we escape the fire unchanged, but that we emerged from the fire, the refiner's fire, with a deeper understanding of what is worth building.
11:45
Todd: So here are five lessons from Liberty Jail that we can use in our lives today.
11:53
Todd: One, you can question your circumstances without abandoning your faith.
11:59
Todd: Two, your trial does not define your worth.
12:05
Todd: Three, Jesus Christ understands suffering perfectly.
12:12
Todd: So here's the big question.
12:32
Todd: The big question for you after three episodes of Refiner's Fire.
12:36
Todd: What is your Liberty Jail?
12:41
Todd: Every one of us will eventually or is currently face a season when life does not match our expectations.
12:49
Todd: You may already be there.
12:51
Todd: Perhaps you are praying for a child who has walked away from the faith.
12:55
Todd: Perhaps you are struggling with a financial burden that seems impossible to overcome.
13:00
Todd: Perhaps you have worked for years toward a goal and watched it slip away.
13:05
Todd: Perhaps you have experienced betrayal, disappointment, or loss that changed the way you see the world.
13:12
Todd: Perhaps your trial is invisible to everyone around you, and most people's are.
13:17
Todd: You continue to go to work, fulfill your responsibilities, smile at people, carry on with your life, but inside, you're dying inside.
13:26
Todd: Inside, you ask the same question Joseph asked.
13:30
Todd: Where art thou, O God?
13:33
Todd: Or, O God, where art thou?
13:37
Todd: If that is where you find yourself, I want you to consider three questions.
13:42
Todd: First, what am I asking God to change?
13:46
Todd: Be honest.
13:49
Todd: There's nothing wrong with asking for relief.
13:52
Todd: Joseph did.
13:53
Todd: Jesus Christ himself pleaded to have pleaded with the Father in Gethsemane.
13:57
Todd: You don't have to pretend that you want to suffer.
14:01
Todd: You don't want to suffer.
14:03
Todd: Ask for relief.
14:05
Todd: Second, what might God be inviting you to learn or become while you wait?
14:12
Todd: Hmm, that's a tricky one.
14:14
Todd: Not really tricky, it's just tricky for us humans because we're impatient.
14:19
Todd: We don't like waiting.
14:20
Todd: Do not assume that every hardship was sent to teach you something.
14:24
Todd: Sometimes hardships are just hardships.
14:27
Todd: But ask whether there is wisdom, compassion, courage, patience, or deeper dependence on Christ that you can develop through the experience.
14:35
Todd: And do not be afraid to ask for help in the process.
14:39
Todd: And third, what is the next faithful thing I can do today?
14:44
Todd: Not next year, not when everything is resolved, not when life is better, not when you're no longer in pain, not when your heart is not broken.
14:55
Todd: Today.
14:57
Todd: Maybe it is a prayer, a difficult conversation, asking someone you trust for help, or taking responsibility for a mistake, or for an outright sin that you chose to do.
15:18
Todd: Maybe it is refusing to retaliate against someone who hurt you.
15:23
Todd: Maybe it is simply getting out of bed and taking the next small step when everything feels overwhelming.
15:32
Todd: Do that next faithful thing today.
15:39
Todd: And then do the next one, step by step, line upon line, precept upon precept, one step at a time.
15:52
Todd: Remember the uh the movie or Robin Williams, I can't remember uh exactly.
15:59
Todd: I just remember him doing baby steps to the office, baby steps here, baby steps there.
16:06
Todd: And it was done as a joke, but it's true.
16:09
Todd: Baby steps.
16:11
Todd: One faithful thing at a time.
16:13
Todd: You need to know your destination.
16:17
Todd: Trust the principles that guide you and keep moving in the right direction.
16:21
Todd: So as I close, I want to return to the question that has guided this entire episode.
16:28
Todd: Art thou greater than he?
16:31
Todd: The Lord invited Joseph Smith to see his suffering in the light of Jesus Christ.
16:40
Todd: I believe he invites us to do the same.
16:42
Todd: The question does not mean our suffering is unimportant.
16:47
Todd: It doesn't mean that you should tolerate abuse, ignore injustice, or refuse help.
16:53
Todd: It does not mean that you should understand every trial or pretend that faith removes every tear.
17:00
Todd: It means that when suffering challenges your understanding of God, remember your Savior.
17:08
Todd: Remember that he was perfectly faithful and still suffered, and he suffered for every single one of us.
17:16
Todd: And when I say every single one of us, that includes you, that includes me.
17:24
Todd: The Savior, the dis the Savior descended below all things, so that he could redeem, strengthen, comfort, and ultimately raise us up.
17:38
Todd: Remember the words the Lord gave to Joseph Smith in Liberty Jail.
17:45
Todd: He said, My son, peace be unto thy soul.
17:50
Todd: Notice that the Lord did not begin by explaining every detail of the future.
17:56
Todd: He began by offering peace.
17:58
Todd: And perhaps that is the greatest lesson of Liberty Jail.
18:03
Todd: Sometimes we want the Lord to explain the refiner's fire before we are willing to trust him while we are in it.
18:12
Todd: But the Savior invites us to know him more deeply even while some questions remain unanswered.
18:20
Todd: He invites you and me to endure well, act faithfully, and let his grace work in our lives.
18:29
Todd: And he invites us to remember that the prison of a present circumstance does not have to become the prison of our hearts.
18:38
Todd: He wants us to leave the past in the past.
18:42
Todd: I've often returned to the idea that spiritual strength is built through daily choices.
18:48
Todd: Liberty Jail gives us a profound example of that principle.
18:52
Todd: Faith is not merely something we declare when the skies are clear, it is something we practice when the horizon disappears.
19:00
Todd: So, when your life enters or is in a season of turbulence, remember the destination, remember your Savior.
19:08
Todd: Do what is within your power, take action, and when you cannot see the whole road ahead, keep taking step by step.
19:19
Todd: You may not understand your refiner's fire today, but you can choose who you will trust while you walk through it.
19:27
Todd: And because of Jesus Christ, the fire does not have to have the final word.
19:31
Todd: This is Todd Talk, Spirit by Design.
19:36
Todd: In our next episode, I'll be speaking with my financial coach, Jeremy Newsom, about how he gained his faith in Christ.
19:49
Todd: And it is a phenomenal interview.
19:52
Todd: That episode will come out on Friday.
19:55
Todd: Thank you for listening.
20:03
Todd: As uh I've told you before in the previous couple episodes, I just released a book.
20:10
Todd: It's a fantasy novel.
20:12
Todd: So enjoy.
20:15
Todd: If you enjoy fantasy, look me up on Amazon.
20:19
Todd: It's on Kindle and Paperback.
20:21
Todd: And the reason I bring it up is because one, I'd like to sell it, but two, the principles in the book.
20:30
Todd: I teach gospel principles in there.
20:33
Todd: I hope you can enjoy, continue listening, subscribe, leave a five-star review if you believe that this has been valuable.
20:47
Todd: Let your friends know about Todd Talk Spirit by Design.
20:51
Todd: And as always, have a blessed day.