Earning The Confidence of God
When we read stories like Elijah and the widow of Zarephath, or Elijah calling down fire from heaven, we may wonder if any of them are real. Like so many Biblical stories, critics pass them off as fables with a moral, or as clever manipulative instruments designed to capture imaginations, minds, and hearts in order to control weak-minded people. I choose to believe them literally and also glean the wealth of spiritually significant and practically useful lessons they demonstrate.
You might ask how this set of stories is relevant to our current state of affairs. Indeed, our technology, education, and sophistication make us miraculously better off than the people of Elijah’s time. Can you imagine what they would think if they had a small glimpse of our way of life? We truly live in miraculous times, and we also live in perilous times, which require us to gain the trust of God and perform our own miracles.
One of the lessons we can learn from this set of stories is that the God of Israel is The True God and that he can do seemingly impossible things through his servants.
We could ask why God would give Elijah the power to seal the heavens, provide endless sustenance, raise the dead, and consume an offering (alter and all) with fire. One idea that comes to mind is that God knows what Elijah will do, so giving him great power is safe. But I don’t think it is that simple. When Elijah runs away from the threat of his demise, the Lord asks, “What doest thou here, Elijah?” Obviously, Elijah is exercising his agency, and the result is not what the Lord had in mind. God then works with him to put him back on track. The point is that perfect obedience is not a prerequisite to earning God’s confidence.
So, what does it take to get God to trust you? If we use Elijah from the Old Testament and Nephi, the son of Helaman from the Book of Mormon (both of whom were given the power to seal on earth and in heaven), as examples, we could find a few key characteristics to emulate.
- Obedience. While obedience is absolutely essential in gaining God’s trust, compliance alone is not enough. The motive behind obedience is a prime factor as well. It is easy to do the right thing for the wrong reason. Imperfect obedience accompanied by a perfect motive is much more effective. When your motivations align with God’s will, you will receive additional detailed instruction through the Holy Spirit.
- Boldness or Courage. Acting unashamedly against popular culture and opinion in pursuit of the will of God demonstrates strength. God rewards strength of will. What the world defines as strength is, in many cases, not what God uses to accomplish his purposes. How many instances can you think of where God calls the weak and simple to break down the mighty and powerful forces of earthly institutions. Even when those who possess actual and terrible potential power serve God’s purposes, they do so using the principles of power, which are: persuasion, long-suffering, gentleness, meekness, love unfeigned, kindness, pure knowledge, without hypocrisy and without guile, reproving with sharpness as directed by the spirit. Elijah calling down fire from heaven is an exception, sort of, because an incredible show of power was necessary to convince people that they were worshiping an impotent god.
- Negotiation. Prayer is, or I would say, should be a negotiation. Other than prayers of thanksgiving and praise, our prayers should be well-articulated arguments. Our proposals should include future actions based on past performance in return for blessings granted. This means that the proposals and requests must be realistic. The fictional character Huckleberry Finn said, “You can’t pray a lie — I found that out.” If you carefully analyze great prayers, in this case, Elijah’s prayers, you will see negotiations and proposals, humbly submitted, that resulted in devastating and miraculous responses from God.
- Hearing With The Heart. Elijah demonstrated that God speaks most often, and with remarkable effect, using a still, small voice. I don’t think the word voice is the best word to describe what happens when God communicates with us. A sensation of stillness, accompanied by a sense of awe and a clarity of mind, is what I experience. If we think of the heart as the divine essence that makes us who we are, it makes sense that the great Creator would use that component of our being to communicate his will to us. It is the only one of our senses that can’t be fooled. On the contrary, the adversary, Satan, can’t speak to our hearts in the same way. His communications are accompanied by darkness and feelings of unease and dread.
- Taking Action. After all the elements listed above are in place, the final step is to act. Perfect intention is meaningless unless you are willing to serve. Knowing you should do something and doing it is what separates those whom God can trust from those he can’t. Too often, I find myself in the latter category. However, every time I follow through with a prompting, great things happen; either my life or the lives of others is blessed. I find myself increasingly motivated to improve others’ lives. It starts with those in my immediate circle but then extends to people I don’t know. Of course, none of that happens without God’s influence and power, and that can’t happen if he has no confidence in me.
Earning God’s confidence is a worthy pursuit. It doesn’t come by not doing wrong or not sinning. It requires a combination of negotiation, listening, acting with boldness for righteous causes, and using the principles of power. The Savior is the perfect example that we should emulate. Because we cannot follow perfectly or sometimes run away from existential threats, real or imagined, it is vital that we try. Once the Lord has proved us, we will earn his confidence and have access to his power, and we will be accomplices in his work.