There is so much to be learned from Isaiah... why do we struggle so much to understand it? So this time as I approached the "actual" book of Isaiah, I decided I needed to really buckle down and learn something. After all, even Jesus himself quoted Isaiah and admonished all of us to learn and know his words. That means there must be some pretty important things for me to learn there.
There had to be a lot of righteous Israelites mixed in, sadly paying the price for the sins of the others as they all fall into captivity. We hear some of their stories too, but what about the ones that didn't do anything big, they just lived quietly in righteousness? The psalmists, that quietly worshipped the Lord, that trusted Him even when times were terrible, and that sang these songs to Him. We don't even know their names, for the most part.
Is anything too hard for the Lord? I love this question, because the answer is so obvious, yet it's so hard for me to comprehend. EVERYTHING is too hard for me, and sometimes I forgot to include the Lord so that I don't struggle so much.
But one of the really big messages for me in Genesis 18-23 comes from the story of Hagar. I think her story is kind of sad. But at the same time, it really is a story about how the Lord knows each of us and will provide what we need.
The scripture in the Doctrine and Covenants that counsels us to "stand ye in holy places and be not moved" is probably one of the most well known and often quoted verses. We see it quoted with pictures of temples, families in their home having family home evening, or sacrament meetings.
These are all physical locations that represent holy places, but as I was studying this week, and with some of the extra material that I read to go along with it, I started to think of standing in holy places a little differently than I have in the past.
How do I receive personal revelation? That is the question I was asking myself a lot this week as I studied the Doctrine and Covenants. Surely the Lord will lead me along, but am I letting Him? While Section 77 and all the things that we can learn about the book of Revelations is exciting and helpful, the bigger message I received, for me personally, is how it is possible to understand the scriptures for myself if I just ask.
