Jesus Christ’s divine grace is available to all of us, but we have to be willing to put in the effort to access it.
When Isaiah told Hezekiah, the king of Judah, to prepare for death, Hezekiah cried out to the Lord. He asked the Lord to remember his righteousness, and he wept sorely at his fate (2 Kings 20:1–3). There are moments in our lives when we, too, endure suffering of one kind or another, but the Lord does not leave us to just weep.
Elder Anthony D. Perkins, in his address “Remember Thy Suffering Saints, O Our God,” reminds us that God, “who notes the fall of even a single sparrow,” is aware of the challenges we face and that “Jesus Christ offers His enabling power to help [us] have strength to endure [our] suffering well.” This enabling power can also be called divine grace, which is the help or strength that we receive from God. Grace is only possible through Christ’s great atoning sacrifice. Christ’s grace allows us not only to overcome our challenges but to do great works we couldn’t do on our own.
Photo by Javid Hashimov
There are many ways that we can call on the Lord and access his power. One way is to cry out in prayer, as Hezekiah did. After Hezekiah prayed, the Lord said, “I have heard thy prayer, I have seen thy tears: behold, I will heal thee” (2 Kings 20:5). The Lord saw Hezekiah’s suffering and added 15 years to his life. This divine grace brought healing to Hezekiah and gave him time and power to help his people. He did not access the enabling power of Jesus Christ just by believing; rather, he had to walk before the Lord in truth, and he had to reach out when he needed help.
We, likewise, must put in effort to receive help and strength. One of the ways Elder Perkins says we can access Christ’s enabling power is by making and keeping covenants, which are essential for our growth and eternal progression. We can also study the word of God—whether it comes from the scriptures or the living prophets—and heed the counsel we find. We may not receive grace in the exact way Hezekiah did, but as we follow his example and choose to access Christ’s power in our suffering and in our daily experiences, we can find the strength to overcome and become.
Read more about how we can access the power of Christ in times of suffering in Elder Anthony D. Perkins’s address “Remember Thy Suffering Saints, O Our God.”
Source: General Conference
—McKenna Tolman, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY 정규송 NUI MALAMA
Find more insights
Discover how we can change through Christ’s grace in President Dieter F. Uchtdorf’s general conference address “The Gift of Grace.”
Read more about how we can more fully rely on Christ’s Atonement in President Russell M. Nelson’s general conference address “Drawing the Power of Jesus Christ into Our Lives.”
Learn more about how important it is that we make and keep covenants in President Henry B. Eyring’s general conference address “All Will Be Well Because of Temple Covenants.”