Healing = Courage + ACTION + Grace ~ Part Three

 Good Morning or Good Afternoon or Good Evening, 

this post should take approximately five minutes to read from start to finish.

This post focuses on a BYU Devotional in January 2014, and it is called "Healing = Courage + Action + Grace" by Jonathan G. Sandberg. This post is part three. I would like to share with you some highlights whilst I was reading the Devotional, and I hope that you would be able to read something new whilst reading through this post. 

Jonathan has mentioned the following; "...  Action
... Action is essential to healing. To act instead of merely being acted upon was a key issue in the War in Heaven before we came to this earth (see Revelation 12:7–11). According to the scriptures, “God gave unto man [and woman] that [they] should act for [themselves]” (2 Nephi 2:16), ...

When pondering these scriptures, I realized that when I choose to be inactive or place myself in a state of being acted upon, I give Satan greater power in my life. A number of scriptures describe clearly the need to act and not be acted upon (see 2 Nephi 2:26; D&C 43:8–9), 19 but how is action related to healing?

I have come to see that action is the point at which belief turns into faith. When we act in faith, moving ahead on a good path, we open the door to grace. Having the courage to act opens the door to grace, which is the key to healing. Learning to act in faith is one of the great challenges of mortality. 

"Action is the foundational key to all
success." - Pablo Picasso.

What then are the major roadblocks to acting in faith? I would suggest that procrastination and fear are two of Satan’s greatest tools to keep us in the “acted upon” position.

If Satan can convince us that our fear is too great to be able to act or that to act is a great idea but we should do it later, he can prevent us from opening the door to grace.

Think about how he does this. Maybe you tell yourself, “I totally plan on getting married. It is a great idea and I am pro-marriage, but I have to do these other things first.” Or, “My life is in a holding pattern right now. I am not sure where I should go or what I should do until I get married. I am stuck.” 

... Or, “I cannot go to my bishop to resolve this sin because I am afraid he will see how far I have fallen and he will not want or will not be able to help me.” Can you see how effective procrastination and fear are in meeting Satan’s objectives in our lives? Remember, the longer we remain in an inactive state, the further we drift from the Lord and His Spirit. 

As C. S. Lewis astutely described, “The more often [a person] feels without acting, the less he will be able ever to act, and, in the long run, the less he will be able to feel.” How then can we overcome the tendency to procrastinate or shut down in fear? Let me propose that prayer is the simplest form of action. 

Remember the truth in this hymn: “Prayer will change the night to day. So, when life gets dark and dreary, Don’t forget to pray.” When you pray, you act in faith and open the door to “blessings that God is already willing to grant, but that are made conditional on our asking for them.” 

In your prayers, be sure to speak openly, sincerely, and directly to Him who is your loving Father. ... We need to learn how to offer mighty prayer. For example, you might fervently plead, “Heavenly Father, I am procrastinating again. I am getting stuck in that old pattern. Please help me to break free. Please give me the strength to just get started and then the stamina to stick with the task.”

Or, “Heavenly Father, I am totally shut down in fear. I need to move forward and act, but this prayer is all I can muster up right now. Please help me find the courage to act.” I promise those prayers will be heard and help will come. We call that help grace. 

And remember, you can still act, even if you are afraid or feel like procrastinating. My favorite example of this type of action is Mother Teresa. I love this quote about her from writer Marcus Goodyear: Mother Teresa doubted. Her spirit wavered. . . . Some days she questioned herself.

Some days she questioned God. And this is the biggest encouragement of all. Even Mother Teresa had doubts. ... Her doubt gives me hope; not that my own doubt will go away but that feelings of doubt are not as powerful as a faithful decision to act. I may doubt, but I still pray. I still go to church. I still worship. 

... Doubt is a feeling, but faith chooses to act no matter our feelings. ... I have since asked myself, “Am I in the right place doing the right thing, willing to act as God prompts so I can do the work He has given me?” ... I love that phrase “see herself as an agent and claim a space of choice.”

When we have the courage to act, we open the door to healing. Mrs. Parks’ courageous act opened the door to the civil rights movement, a movement that brought a large measure of needed healing to this country." 

Stay Tuned until next time.