And
it came to pass that the Lord commanded them that they should go forth into the
wilderness, yea, into that quarter where there never had man been. And it came
to pass that the Lord did go before them, and did talk with them as he stood in
a cloud, and gave directions whither they should travel. (Ether 2:5)
It is interesting that the
Lord directed the brother of Jared to take the people into an area where man
had never gone before. Now, people are pretty adventurous, so when there’s a
place no one has gone before, it is usually because the route looks really
forbidding and desolate. So it might have looked like there was a really good
reason no one had gone that way.
But if the Lord wanted them
to take that route, it was because He knew more about it than man did, that He
saw it had the resources to supply their needs even if it didn’t appear to. (And if it didn’t, He could provide by miracle and build their faith.) It would take faith to follow the Lord’s
directions, trust that it would be alright when appearances were against it.
Not everyone has the faith
to do this kind of thing. In Numbers 20:1-8, the children of Israel were led to
the desert of Zin where there was no water, and they gathered against Moses to
complain, wishing they had died before then and wondering why they had been led
there. A miracle brought them water, but even if they hadn’t complained, they
would have needed the miracle anyway. But it would have been better for them if they
could have refrained from complaining at all and simply recognized their need
for a miracle.
So, lesson #1 – The Lord may
lead us in ways that don’t look very possible, and it takes faith to follow.
Lesson #2 – The Lord wants
us to learn to depend on Him, so He will bring us by ways that require us to do
that.
Lesson #3 – The Lord brings
us to places where miracles are required so that we can experience what He is
capable of doing. But these places also require a lot of faith from us too.
Lesson #4 – It is best not
to murmur when we are stuck and simply realize we need miracles and ask for
them.
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