3 Nephi 4

IIn this chapter the Gadianton Robbers were ready to come to battle against the Nephites and just before the battle ensued, the Nephites prayed to their God for support. The Gadianton Robbers saw this as a sign of weakness and fear, and they took courage as they assumed they would soon defeat the Lamanites; however, to their disappointment--they were sorely mistaking.

It reads:

8 And it came to pass that the armies of the Nephites, when they saw the appearance of the army of Giddianhi, had all fallen to the earth, and did lift their cries to the Lord their God, that he would spare them and deliver them out of the hands of their enemies.

 9 And it came to pass that when the armies of Giddianhi saw this they began to shout with a loud voice, because of their joy, for they had supposed that the Nephites had fallen with fear because of the terror of their armies.

 10 But in this thing they were disappointed, for the Nephites did not fear them; but they did fear their God and did supplicate him for protection; therefore, when the armies of Giddianhi did rush upon them they were prepared to meet them; yea, in the strength of the Lord they did receive them.

And so it is with us in our life. As we turn to God, He will strengthen us. He will preserve us from Satan, but we must turn to Him for that strength. We have the choice to allow God into our lives, or the choice to rely on our own strength. Time and time again in the scriptures, the stories of the people relying on the strength of God demonstrate the ability to overcome; whereas those who do not--do not overcome. Recently, we have been struggling with Uncle Brandon's death. This is our time to rely on God for strength and for fighting our fears. This is what I wrote in my journal:

Last night was another night of fear before bed. We cried together for quite some time. We once again talked about facing our fears and trusting in God. Sometimes thoughts are so hard to dismiss. It takes great persistence, faith and prayer to move past some of the thoughts that seem to surface in our minds. This is the struggle--to continually push out the sad and bad thoughts, and trust in the good. Amber said last night that she can't seem to get the night of Brandon's death out of her mind. She said it is like a movie that continually replays in her mind, and the movie is always of me crying the word "no". We talked about that night. We faced her fears. And then we talked about the good of that night too. We talked about the praying and the seeking God. We talked about the blessing she received and what it said, and then we listened to the blessing.

I didn't realize that it would be a tender mercy to have the blessing recorded, but as we re-listened to God's words to her, Amber felt fortified and determined to allow God to help her. The blessing was directly related to her struggle right now. When the blessing was first offered Bryan had no idea of what kind of struggle Amber would face, which is a testimony to me that God is aware of us. He sees our struggles, and He sends messages to us to strengthen us in times of need. This blessing was a message from God to Amber, and I believe it will be the source of her strength to overcome. I am so grateful for the power of the priesthood, for the love of God, and for trials. It is through these trials that we have the opportunity to become. The process of becoming is so difficult, but I have no doubt that it will someday be glorious.