Deuteronomy 32

(May 19, 2014)
Every one of us has a promised land.  For some of us it might be the job we want, or the wife or husband we want, or the family we want, or the position of leadership (in or out of the Church) that we want.  But there is something that represents, to us, our temporal promised land.  Maybe, we are even willing to wait upon the Lord for this promised land – knowing that no matter how much we may want this thing, we must always put the Lord first.

But even understanding that, it is so very hard to be in the situation where you come to realize that whatever this promised land that you want may be, you will not receive it in mortality.  I think that is probably the most common lot for us – we want things that we think are reasonable and good (and we often want them desperately), but the Lord’s plan for our greater eternal happiness does not run along the course that would allow us to receive these particular temporal blessings.  Like Moses, we are called to serve the Lord until such time as the Lord calls us up to His mountain for us to be reunited with our ancestors.

It is a painful thought, as we break ties with things that we may want so very much (especially when, as with Moses, this break is because of our own mistakes).  But, ultimately, we must trust that the Lord knows best how to succor His children with those things that we stand in need of.  The Savior has, walking with us, experienced the same feelings of despair and loss as the important temporal things of life slipped forever out of our reach.  And He walks with us still, and from that we can know that as much as it may hurt He will dry our tears and make us whole in the eternities.