“Go Forward with Trust in the Lord,” For the Strength of Youth, Apr. 2022.
Come, Follow Me
Exodus
Go Forward with Trust in the Lord
When you put your trust in the Lord, you have His help each day.
Imagine you were with Moses as he led the children of Israel out of Egypt and the bonds of slavery. While camping by the Red Sea, you see the Egyptian army racing toward you in their chariots. Pharaoh has sent them after you.
The Red Sea is in front of you. Pharaoh’s army is behind you. You’re trapped!
Many around you become afraid. They say it would have been better to stay in Egypt than die in the wilderness. You hear Moses tell everyone to trust that “the Lord shall fight for you” (Exodus 14:14).
Moses then takes his rod in his hand and stretches out his hand over the Red Sea. Suddenly, the waters part, allowing you and all the children of Israel to pass through on dry ground (see Exodus 14:16–22). The Lord has provided a way to escape.
The parting of the Red Sea is one of the most spectacular miracles in the Bible. Moses was able to perform this miracle because he put his trust in the Lord. Imagine what you can accomplish as you do the same!
The Power of Trust
We may not be called to face the challenges that Moses did, but we will still have our own unique challenges. The answer to our challenges is the same as it was for Moses: trust in the Lord.
Moses knew that the Lord was the only one who could save the children of Israel. He knew this because he had experiences learning to trust the Lord earlier in his life (see Exodus 1:21; 3:2–10; 7–11).
Think about the experiences you or others you know have had that tell you that you can trust in the Lord. Those can help you to have faith in Him now. Here are a few ways putting your trust in the Lord can help you as you go through each day.
Trust That Things Will Work Out
Sometimes, trusting in the Lord can be hard, especially when you can’t see how things are going to turn out. In moments like this, we are encouraged to “search diligently, pray always, and be believing, and all things shall work together for your good” (Doctrine and Covenants 90:24). As Elder Gerrit W. Gong of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught, this is true because Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ “know how all things can work together, and They know what is good for us.” 1
Trust In Revelation
How did Moses know what to do when he and the children of Israel found themselves trapped? The scriptures teach that it was by the “spirit of revelation” (Doctrine and Covenants 8:3). Like Moses, we can trust the promptings and inspiration the Lord gives us through the Holy Ghost.
President Russell M. Nelson has taught that we can “receive guidance and direction, be warned about dangers and distractions, and be enabled to accomplish things we simply could not do on our own.” 2
Take the First Step
Moses and the children of Israel showed their trust in the Lord when they took their first steps onto the dry ground where the sea had been.
We show our trust in the Lord when we have the courage to do what the Lord asks of us. Sometimes that means we have “to walk to the edge of the light, and then a few steps into the darkness; then the light will appear and show the way before you.” 3
Remember the Great Work the Lord Does for You
After their experience at the Red Sea, the children of Israel “saw that great work which the Lord did … and believed the Lord, and his servant Moses” (Exodus 14:31). Unfortunately, they forgot these things over time. It’s not enough to see the Lord’s great work in our lives; we also need to remember what He has done for us. As we do, we will have faith to put our trust in Him again.