Every person on earth will face the trials of mortality, but we can have the works of God manifest in our own lives, and we can help manifest them in the lives of others.
The complex heart defects I have had all my life have at times felt like a burden I was forced to carry. Multiple surgeries, low oxygen, and a serious heart infection, among other challenges, have threatened to weigh me down indefinitely. Despite this, I have always been able to find the hand of God in those experiences, and as I have witnessed many miracles, I have been able to share that perspective with others.
I love the story of the miraculous healing of the blind man in Jerusalem. Upon seeing the man, Christ’s disciples asked whose fault it was that he was born blind. Christ’s response teaches a beautiful truth: “Neither hath this man sinned, nor his parents: but that the works of God should be made manifest in him” (John 9:3). Bishop Richard C. Edgley, in his speech “For Thy Good,” talks about this and other accounts where people realized how their trials could be beneficial. He says, “As the ‘works of God’ were made manifest in the healing of a blind man, so also the way we face our personal trials may manifest the ‘works of God.’”
Photo by Bich Tran
Bishop Edgley suggests some ways that we can manifest God’s works, but the one I find most helpful is his suggestion to turn outward and use our experiences to help others. My heart problems have truly been a great blessing and a sacred opportunity for me to stand as a living witness of God’s mercy and power. I have seen his works in my own life—both in the doctors he has placed in my path and the strength he has given me to move forward—and I have had the chance to share my sorrows with those who experience similar adversities. I may not be healed the way the blind man was, but I can take the difficulties that have weighed me down and use them to lift others up.
Just as Christ reached out to the blind man, we all can reach out to those around us—no matter the details of our trials. We can look for the sweet moments in our own bitter suffering, and we can help others see how present God is in their lives. As we turn outward and serve in this capacity, we can be the hands and works of God.
Read Bishop Richard C. Edgley’s article “For Thy Good” to learn more about how we can find the good in the challenges we face.
Source: General Conference
—McKenna Tolman, Latter-day Saint Insights
FEATURE IMAGE BY HỒNG THẮNG LÊ
Find more insights
Learn more about how we can learn and grow from our trials in Stacey Clark’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “No Trial Is Wasted.”
Read about how our suffering can be for our good in Sarah Bennett’s Latter-day Saint Insights article “The Whys of Suffering.”