God's Plan, a Savior, and trust

Today will be a weightier post, as I've had a lot of things on my mind. I was thinking about God's plan for each of us, the blessing of a Savior, and about trusting in God. I'm thankful for the wonderful blessings that come from those. The words to the song "I Know That My Redeemer Lives" has been going through my head. It says,

I know that my Redeemer lives. What comfort this sweet sentence gives! He lives, he lives, who once was dead. He lives, my everliving Head. He lives to bless me with his love. He lives to plead for me above. He lives my hungry soul to feed. He lives to bless in time of need.

He lives to grant me rich supply. He lives to guide me with his eye. He lives to comfort me when faint. He lives to hear my soul's complaint. He lives to silence all my fears. He lives to wipe away my tears. He lives to calm my troubled heart. He lives all blessings to impart.

He lives, my kind, wise heav'nly Friend. He lives and loves me to the end. He lives, and while he lives, I'll sing. He lives, my Prophet, Priest, and King. He lives and grants me daily breath. He lives, and I shall conquer death. He lives my mansion to prepare. He lives to bring me safely there.

He lives! All glory to his name! He lives, my Savior, still the same. Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: "I know that my Redeemer lives!" He lives! All glory to his name! He lives, my Savior, still the same. Oh, sweet the joy this sentence gives: "I know that my Redeemer lives!"

As the words came to my mind, and hearing the phrase "He lives" repeated over and over, I was reminded of the miracle of the Atonement and resurrection. I don't understand how it works, but because of Christ's Atonement, we are able to be cleansed from our sins and to also live again with God (He lives to "bring me safely there" to the mansion that He has prepared). And the significance that he lives means that He is still here to bless us. Jesus didn't just die for our sins and leave us to find our way back alone. His Atonement covers all of our pains, our fears, and inadequacies. He LIVES to calm our troubled heart and impart blessings to us. I'm thankful for that.

Realizing that we are a part of God's plan brings comfort because that means that He is at the helm. While we still have freedom to choose our path, there is a great amount of trust placed in us that we will choose the right. I think sometimes he also must have a sense of humor because of the unexpected things that come along (haven't you heard this before: If you want to make God laugh, tell him YOUR plans.) He knows what is best for us and we aren't free from trials - in fact, that's the remarkable part of the plan. We must have opposition in all things. But it's that trust in the Lord and also his trust in us that allow us to make it through anything, in HIS timing.

Just thinking a little more about trust, I've seen how this works with my parents. When I was at home, I think it was trust that kept me out of trouble. While I still had a curfew and "rules" (we didn't have written rules, but I knew exactly what they expected), they placed a great amount of freedom and trust in me that I would choose the right. I operated on the basis of not ever wanting to break that trust. The more I trusted in and fulfilled their expectations, the more trust they had in me, and the greater freedom.

I know this is getting long, but I'm thinking of one of my favorite scriptures - Proverbs 3:5 - "Trust in the Lord with all thine heart, and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths." I think this could be my personal theme scripture - I'm trusting in the Lord to direct my paths and acknowledging Him, it's just the "with all thine heart" that I need to work on.