As you wait for the waters to part, don’t hesitate to start walking. Trust that soon enough you’ll see the dry ground beneath your feet.
PHOTO BY VINCENTIU SOLOMON
As a high school senior, I prayed daily about which college to attend, but I did not get an answer from God. Frustrated, I eventually made a decision between my final two picks. After I did, the Lord impressed upon me that either option would have been okay—He just wanted me to choose.
At times it is easy to feel immobilized by fear, especially as we try to “wait upon the Lord” (Isaiah 40:31). However, sometimes the Lord may be waiting for us to act before giving us the witness, direction, or solution we seek. Elder David A. Bednar teaches this principle in a CES broadcast titled “Seek Learning by Faith.”
Elder Bednar begins by explaining the three elements of faith: assurance, action, and evidence. We must have the assurance that God is in control. We must act according to that assurance. And then we must wait for the Lord’s sign to see that our faith was not in vain.
Elder Bednar gives the example of the children of Israel crossing the river Jordan. The Israelites were transporting the ark of the covenant, and the Lord had promised them that they would cross the river on dry ground. Elder Bednar remarks, “Interestingly, the waters did not part as the children of Israel stood on the banks of the river waiting for something to happen; rather, the soles of their feet were wet before the water parted.” He continues, “the faith of the Israelites was manifested in the fact that they walked into the water before it parted.”
This principle is taught in the Book of Mormon: “Dispute not because ye see not, for ye receive no witness until after the trial of your faith” (Ether 12:6).
I approached my college decision trusting in the Lord and His confidence in my own decision-making. I chose to attend Brigham Young University. Now I can look back and see places where the water has parted—blessings from a faith-filled decision.
Read or watch Elder Bednar’s address “Seek Learning by Faith.”
Source: churchofjesuschrist.org
—Lydia Mercado, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY MARCO BIASIBETTI
Find more insights
Watch Elder Bednar explain more about receiving revelation in the video “Patterns of Light: Spirit of Revelation.”
Read more about acting in faith from Elder Packer’s devotional “The Edge of Light.”