“Trusting God,” Ensign, January 2019
Reflections
Trusting God
The author lives in Utah, USA.
The story of Sariah taught me a lesson on finding peace.
Illustration by Jim Madsen
In 2015, I felt prompted to start reading the Book of Mormon again from the beginning. Shortly afterward, my husband, the main breadwinner of our family, lost his job. All of a sudden our lives changed from comfortable to full of stress and worry. How would we provide for our family?
That night, as my mind filled with anxious thoughts, I read the story of Nephi and his brothers returning to Jerusalem to obtain the brass plates. Something new struck me about their story, particularly the part in 1 Nephi 5 when they finally accomplish their mission and return home to their parents in the wilderness. Nephi explains:
“My mother, Sariah, … truly had mourned because of us.
“For she had supposed that we had perished in the wilderness; and she also had complained against my father, telling him that he was a visionary man; saying: Behold thou hast led us forth from the land of our inheritance, and my sons are no more, and we perish in the wilderness” (verses 1–2).
Nephi goes on to say:
“And when we had returned to the tent of my father, behold their joy was full, and my mother was comforted.
“And she spake, saying: Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laban, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded them” (verses 7–8).
I realized that Sariah had no direct control over her sons’ return; the only thing she had control over was how she chose to spend her time while they were gone—fretting and worrying or trusting in the Lord.
I saw that I had the same choice as Sariah. I could fret and worry and stress out about my husband’s need to find another job, or I could trust that the Lord would take care of us and try to let that trust bring peace during this time between jobs. The choice seemed obvious: I chose to trust the Lord. And in the end, the Lord did take care of us.
This experience was a reminder to me that the Lord wants us to trust Him and can provide peace in times of trial. We are in His care, and He will not fail us.