Sometimes fear keeps us from acting in faith, but God knows our heart’s deepest desires, and if we turn to him, he will help us grow and improve in our faith.
My husband has the authority to use God’s power to offer blessings of healing and comfort to the sick and afflicted because he has received the Melchizedek Priesthood. Recently, however, he hesitated when the opportunity arose to give me a healing blessing from a physical ailment I have had for more than 20 years. He wanted to serve the Lord with all his heart, but he questioned why his fear kept him from administering this blessing.
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To find answers to some of his concerns, my husband studied an address by Elder Ronald M. Barcellos titled “The Lord Looketh on the Heart.” In this address, Elder Barcellos discusses themes of how the Lord knows our hearts and helps us strengthen them spiritually. He states, “As we continue to nourish the seed of faith by our righteous desires and actions, we will experience…sanctification of our hearts.” He also teaches that the Lord offers to give us a new heart if we let him.
Only the Savior can strengthen our hearts and change us for the better. Elder Barcellos continues by teaching that “[The Lord] knows your thoughts and the desires of your heart, and as you come unto Him, He will bless you with strength, confidence, peace, and joy in this life.” Sometimes fear keeps us from acting in faith, just as my husband experienced, but God knows our heart’s deepest desires, and if we turn to him, he will help us grow and improve in our faith.
As my husband studied this talk, he was reminded of the Lord’s love for all of his children. He believes that the Lord knows his heart and intentions, even though he experienced a moment of fear. He told me that God has provided a Savior to guide all of us through such moments. When we focus on the Lord and have unwavering trust in him and his plan, he promises that his children will be healed according to his will and timing. He promises to change our hearts.
Read more about how we can develop our faith through allowing Christ to strengthen our hearts in the article “The Lord Looketh on the Heart” by Elder Ronald M. Barcellos.
Source: General Conference
—Leah Laret, Latter-day Saint Insights
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Find more insights
Read Taylor Nelson’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “Let Not Your Heart Be Troubled” to discover new ways to find peace through Christ when our heart experiences troubles and our faith is challenged.
This article focused on developing the faith to heal others, but you can read more about my experience developing the faith to be healed in my article “Developing the Faith to Be Healed.”