God Is in the Gaps

Though we may not see the whole picture, God shows us enough that we can have faith in him.

How can people have faith in something they can’t see? How can the small pieces of evidence that we occasionally receive form the foundation of a firm faith?

President Steven J. Lund shared a powerful story in his recent BYU devotional entitled “Flashes of Light.” His story explains how we can use small experiences to build our faith. One night, President Lund was traveling in Asia and took a taxi that went over a bridge. The view from the bridge was almost entirely blocked by a wall, aside from some small gaps between the wall sections. President Lund, tired from traveling, gazed out the window and watched for the flashes he could see of the scenery beyond. As the taxi finished crossing the bridge, he looked back for a better view and realized that he had already unconsciously envisioned all that lay beyond the wall through the gaps! He hadn’t needed to see the whole picture to know what was there: a few boats, the river, and the forest beyond.

Our testimonies can be built using this same principle. We don’t know everything, and it can be easy to feel that the little we do know isn’t much to build our faith on. Still, when everything is considered together, a more complete picture can form, similar to President Lund’s experience gazing through the gaps in the wall.

Even small spiritual experiences can be important. For instance, have you ever felt a warm, comforting feeling when you pray? Have you been inspired to do something that had a big impact? Have you reached out to someone that really needed it that day, or has someone done that for you? Have you been protected in a scary situation? All of these things and more can be used to start to put together the puzzle pieces to find out who God is and how he works in our lives.

—Susanna Bergeson, Latter-day Insights

Source: BYU Speeches

FEATURE IMAGE BY CALIMIEL

Find more insights

Read more about gaining insights from spiritual experiences in the talk “Spiritually Defining Memories” by Elder Neil L. Andersen.

Discover more about building faith in the Latter-day Saint Insights article “Finding Faith in the Light of Christ.”