Finding Answers: From Sister to Sister
How Can We Continue to Have Faith When Promised Blessings Don’t Seem to Come?
Although we were devastated after facing roadblocks in our adoption, I held on to hope that the blessings we were waiting for would come in the Lord’s time and way.
Have you ever received revelation of a specific blessing, only for that promised blessing to not come when you expected it? When this happens, how can we move forward?
I’ve had many instances where I’ve asked this question, but one experience in particular taught me that we can have faith in any circumstance—because no matter the setbacks we face or the amount of time that passes, Heavenly Father’s promises are true. He loves us and desires to bless us.
When I was growing up, I contracted an illness that left the possibility of carrying a baby to term uncertain. So when we got married, my husband and I started looking into adoption almost immediately.
After five long years of us waiting and practicing faith, the moment finally came—soon a baby whom we could adopt would be born. My husband and I were overjoyed at the beautiful news that we would be parents, and I was so grateful to Heavenly Father for providing us with this blessing we had prayed about for so long.
While we waited for the adoption day, the baby’s biological mother told us two things: (1) she did not know the baby’s gender, and (2) the baby would be born in early October.
So we started preparing.
Receiving Answers
During a conversation with a close friend about the adoption prior to the baby being born, I felt the Spirit so strongly and experienced a clear impression that the baby my husband and I were adopting would be a girl.
Later in September, I had another spiritual experience. I was driving to work, and as I pondered in the car, I felt another clear impression that despite being due in October, the baby was going to be born that morning.
Sure enough, around noon, my husband called to tell me that the baby had been born that morning, and she was indeed a girl.
I was so excited!
At first, I believed that those two spiritual experiences I’d had before the baby’s birth were impressions from Heavenly Father intended to comfort me and help me recognize His hand in my life. But they were so much more than that.
On the following day, my husband and I finished up all the legal documents. We were so excited to meet the baby. But at the very moment we were boarding the plane that would be taking us to where our new daughter was located, we got a call from the adoption agency. We were told that there was an unexpected roadblock in our adoption process.
I couldn’t believe it. We had prayed and patiently waited, and we had prepared in every way for the baby to join our family—there was even a new baby car seat waiting in the back of our car. Nevertheless, we were told that we could not proceed with the adoption at that time. Devastated, we exited the plane and drove home in tears with an empty car seat.
Trusting in the Lord
When I was heartbroken because our adoption was falling through, I pondered those two clear spiritual impressions I had received about this special baby girl. There was no coincidence in those experiences, and I was certain that Heavenly Father had given me those messages to assure me that this baby would be our daughter eventually despite the complications we were now facing.
So I held on to those spiritual impressions, continuing with hope, trust, and faith that in the end, everything would turn out well and my husband and I would be able to hold her in our arms.
Heavenly Father often provides us with helpful spiritual guidance. If you look back on the revelation you have received and other moments where you have seen His hand in your life, you may have received spiritual impressions of specific blessings for your life as well.
As you ponder those spiritual moments, you will be able to trust and have hope that whatever blessings the Lord has in store for you will come in the Lord’s time and way, which might not always be in the time frame or way we expect. Our worries can be “swallowed up in the joy of Christ” (Alma 31:38) as we choose to keep moving forward with faith in Him.
Faith Is the Greatest Power We Have
Remembering those spiritual impressions was helpful in renewing my hope, but holding on to my faith in the Lord’s promises was not always easy.
In the three months of waiting, hoping, and praying for this baby girl’s adoption to work out, I had many dark days where everything in life seemed disappointing and almost meaningless. I did all I could to turn to Heavenly Father, but it was still often difficult to see the light in the middle of this experience.
During this time, I came across a message from Elder Neal A. Maxwell (1926–2004) of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles: “Without patience we will learn less in life. We will see less; we will feel less; we will hear less. Ironically, ‘rush’ and ‘more’ usually mean ‘less.’” 1 Pondering the principle of patience in this statement changed everything for me. I started to change my thoughts and wait upon the Lord with deeper faith.
I’m sure many of us have had experiences like this—when it feels like no matter how hard we try and plead with Heavenly Father, those blessings we are seeking continue to be out of reach and the heavens seem closed. In those times, we can remember these powerful words from President Russell M. Nelson:
“The Savior is never closer to you than when you are facing or climbing a mountain with faith. …
“Faith in Jesus Christ is the greatest power available to us in this life. All things are possible to them that believe.
“Your growing faith in Him will move mountains—not the mountains of rock that beautify the earth but the mountains of misery in your lives. Your flourishing faith will help you turn challenges into unparalleled growth and opportunity.” 2
Over the years, I have often reflected on this experience of waiting for the adoption to work out. During those months of uncertainty, I prayed to Heavenly Father more than I ever had. I opened my heart to His consolation and worked to understand His purposes and teachings and discover His and the Savior’s awareness of me. Now I see that during that time of struggle, I was able to grow so much closer to Christ.
As you also choose to hold on to faith and hope for the blessings you seek, you will see that Heavenly Father and Jesus Christ are always with you. Always. We can have hope in His promises even when the specific blessings we are seeking are still out of reach. We can remain faithful even as we wait.
We see many examples of waiting faithfully in the scriptures:
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When Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego were facing the possibility of death, they trusted God would protect them from the fiery furnace but also promised to remain faithful if they weren’t delivered (see Daniel 3:17–18).
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Even though they were waiting to be delivered from bondage, the people of Alma were able to experience joy as they trusted in God: “Yea, the Lord did strengthen them that they could bear up their burdens with ease, and they did submit cheerfully and with patience to all the will of the Lord” (Mosiah 24:15).
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While suffering in Liberty Jail, the Prophet Joseph Smith cried out to the Lord for help and was comforted by these words: “My son, peace be unto thy soul; thine adversity and thine afflictions shall be but a small moment” (Doctrine and Covenants 121:7).
As we continue to wait for blessings, it is worth staying faithful to our covenants. We may not be able to change our circumstances, but we can change our thoughts and hearts, especially as we remember that the Lord is present in our lives and does “visit [us] in [our] afflictions” (Mosiah 24:14). We can continue to choose to believe and have faith in Him, relying on Him and Heavenly Father to give us strength and hope.
Promised Blessings Will Come
Through a lot of patience, many setbacks, and much faith and trust in the Lord, our daughter was finally able to come home to us. And a few years later, we experienced similar circumstances where we again exercised patience and saw miracles as we adopted another baby girl.
Ultimately, the promised blessing of me being a mother was realized, but it came in God’s time and way, which was much different than I had anticipated.
Elder Jeffrey R. Holland of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles has taught that some promised blessings are meant for this life, while others may not come until the next life—but “for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, [promised blessings] come.” 3 Knowing that Heavenly Father will keep His promises to me as I follow Him helps me move forward with faith despite the lack of answers at times in my life.
As we trust in Heavenly Father and continually study His character, we can confidently know that He wants only what is best for us because it is His nature as God—He is perfect, benevolent, omnipotent, and omniscient, and He loves us with a perfect love.
As we wait upon Him with faith and trust in His timing and knowledge, I know we will all experience miracles and a fulness of joy.