Sabbath Devotional :: Proving Contraries and Trusting in the Lord

When I was around middle-school-age, I had the opportunity to attend a sleep-away church camp during summer, which I loved. It was a beautiful little Lutheran church camp situated in a forested area outside my hometown of Omaha, Nebraska. The camp had horses and cabins, teepees, platform tents, a pool, trails by the Platte River, and lots of hiking, singing, crafts, and outdoor activities — very comparable to a Young Women’s camp.

This particular camp also had a team-building ropes course with various obstacles that campers would have to overcome with the help of their fellow campers, and team building became one of my favorite parts of camp. Probably the most impactful exercise for me was one of the most basic: the trust fall. It being the 1990s — before social media and the internet — I had never heard of such a thing before I went to camp. My camp counselors demonstrated. One stood behind the other. The counselor in front crossed her arms and after calling out that she was ready to fall — and hearing that her partner was ready to catch her — she fell straight back into his arms. He carefully pushed her back to her feet.

As I watched this, I became nervous. It did not seem like a good idea to fall back into the arms of another one or two kids I didn’t know well. How could I trust them to catch me? I wasn’t alone in my concern; a lot of campers struggled. Some would bend their knees instead of falling straight back. Some refused to try. But the counselors showed us how we could start out falling a very short distance — just leaning back a little — and as we built trust we felt more and more comfortable falling straight back into the arms of our fellow campers, who would gently and carefully bring us back to our feet. Our counselors likened this to the trust we could have in God and Jesus Christ, that He would always catch us and bring us right back to our feet, if we trusted in Him.

In Prov. 3:5-6 we read, “Trust in the Lord with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths.” Just as I hesitated to trust another middle schooler to catch me if I fell backwards, I sometimes hesitate to trust in the Lord. But, paradoxically, I know he is preeminently deserving of my trust.

In my various professions, past and present, I have had the opportunity to bear witness of others’ pains and griefs and also receive daily lessons in contrasts. As a newspaper reporter I covered major natural disasters as well as community, family, and individual crises. As a crisis counselor for the National Suicide Prevention Lifeline, I urged those without hope to continue on. My current work for MWEG requires me to pay close attention to current events, including wars and rumors of wars, pestilences, abuse, corruption, and heartbreak. And yet, simultaneously the world is full of helpers, bridge builders, and peacemakers. There are compassionate voices that respond to calls for help, and ready hands that guide the wounded to safety.

The world is full of paradoxes, contrasts, and contraries. We read about them in the scriptures: “Beauty for ashes (Isaiah 61:3).” “Weak things become strong (Ether 12:27).” “The last shall be first, and the first shall be last (1 Nephi 13:42).” We know that opposition is necessary. President Joseph Smith said, “By proving contraries, truth is made manifest.” (See Tasting the Light by Lynn G. Robbins.)

In 1986, Francine R. Bennion spoke at a BYU women’s conference about the perplexing nature of a world so full of both pain and joy. She said: “One function of any religion is to explain such a world as this, to provide a theology that makes sense of love and joy and miracles but also of suffering and struggle and lack of miracles. Good theology makes sense of what is possible but also of what is presently real and probable. In this twentieth century, it is not enough that a theology of suffering explain my experience. . . Good theology of suffering explains all human suffering, not just the suffering of those who feel they know God’s word and are his chosen people. . . . I think suffering on this earth is an indication of God’s trust, God’s love.”

As I feel pulled and unsteadied by the contraries and contrasts of the world, I try to remember that they are all manifestations of how God trusts me and loves me. He reveals that trust and love through the example of those peacemakers and bridge builders around me, all of whom reflect the love of the Savior. When aspects of my life seem unreliable and unpredictable, I lean on him, and he unfailingly grounds me with peace and reassurance. He does not let me fall. Christ has the power to reconcile the irreconcilable, and he can bring us together in unity and love, as we trust in him.