Hope

As I stated in my last (and first) blog post: “My hope in writing this blog is to share some of the insights I receive pertaining to obedience to the Gospel each week.” Interestingly enough, the insight I have to share this week has to do with one of the words in that statement: Hope.

To start off, I must admit that this week did not start out great. Come Monday morning I was a complete mess, and I didn’t want to admit it. I had so much on my mind and began to feel a great deal of confusion. There was a lot I had bottled in; the weight in which I felt was so heavy, and all I wanted to do was cry (and mind you, I hate crying). I called my cousin/best friend, Becca, and we had a great conversation. It felt good to know someone was listening to me, and that I was not alone. And although Becca is an amazing friend, telling her was not enough. Talking about it was good, but I needed to do something about it. But what should I do?

My initial instinct was to pray and read my scriptures. So, on Tuesday morning as I was reading in Paul’s first epistle to the people of Corinth I came across a verse that struck my attention. In 1 Corinthians 9:10 Paul teaches:

“... he that ploweth should plow in hope; and that he that thresheth in hope should be partaker of his hope.”

“Plow”? “Thresheth”? What does Paul mean in comparing such actions to hope? I decided to look into it. In summary, people back then did not have the machinery that we have today to “thresh,” or separate grain from a plant (such as wheat), with ease. One needed to use a flail (a tool consisting of a wooden staff with a short heavy stick swinging from it) so that they could separate the grains from their husks. In reflecting, I could see myself as the one who plows, interconnected with the grain being flailed. Proper plowing requires manual labor and hard work. Being the wheat requires being struck with a flail. Both sound painful and difficult, but there is good that comes from each.

The grain is the best part of the wheat, distributed for various good uses, and we cannot use grain to its full potential until it has been sifted through. What if the wheat, as a whole, represents who we are (as imperfect, carnal beings)? What if the grain represents the best parts of us, who the Lord knows we can become?

The manual labor is a representation to me that hope does take effort on our part, and more often than not that effort is met by difficult obstacles. The best things require patience, time, and a willingness to work hard so that we may reap the rewards of our efforts. I strongly believe that a part of Paul’s message is that through difficulty, hope is what we need to exercise in order to partake of Christ’s Atonement, the ultimate source of hope. Hope is a necessary part of faith (see Hebrews 11:1) and faith is a crucial part in receiving salvation (see Ephesians 2:8). As we are obedient in living Christ’s gospel, we apply hope and exercise faith that His promised blessings will be fulfilled. We will be able to be partakers of the blessings His gospel provides, as well as partakers in the miracle of His Atonement.

I learned so much from such a short passage, and what is written is just a portion of what I learned. I felt a deep sense of needed hope. I knew in that moment that the Lord was very mindful of me and that He loved me very much, and that was exactly what I needed. With renewed hope came motivation, and with motivation came action. I needed to do something, and now I am. I don’t have the answer to everything, but with hope in Christ and His Atonement I know that everything will be okay.