Doubt not, Fear not.

A couple important lessons that I have recently come to understand is that 1- this life is FULL of hardships and 2-NO ONE is exempt from them! Suffering and pain is an inevitable part of life that we all have to deal with. Everyone has their unique struggles and even though some people "seem" to have life easier then others, most of the time the truth is that they have just learned to mask it a little better. Therefore when we go through struggles, we should never think "why me" because the truth is that it rarely has anything to do with "you" and mostly to do with one of the main purposes of life. Which is to learn and grow and typically that growth comes after these trials of our faith.

Lately I have been thinking a LOT about doubt and fear vs faith and hope. And what I've come to realize is that one comes from God, and the other comes from the devil. Satan is one smart son-of-a-gun and he knows exactly what tools to use in order to bring us down into the hell and misery that he lives in every day. And one of his best tools is to instill fear, doubt, and despair in our minds in the midst of our trials. Luckily though, I feel SO blessed to have a strong testimony of God and our Saviour Jesus Christ and their power of deliverance and of HOPE!

Here is one of my favorite quotes that I carry with me everywhere and read out loud to myself whenever I start to feel discouraged:

"When you feel overwhelmed by expectations and challenges, do not fight the battle alone. Follow the example of small children and drop to your knees in prayer. Jesus Christ has commanded us, 'Look unto me in every thought; doubt not, fear not.' Doubt, fear and worry indicate that we have taken all of life's burdens and anxieties on ourselves. When plagued by thoughts that you are inadequate, confidently say, 'I can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth me.' Then as you 'cheerfully do all things that lie in your power', you can rest assured that the Lord will do the remainder and things will work out all right. The savior promised, 'Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. As you cast your burden upon the Lord, you will feel the peace of the Spirit."

I bear my testimony that Heavenly Father is always there, with "his hand stretched forth still." He knows our struggles and is ANXIOUS to give us rest from them but we must first do our part! One of my biggest pet peeves is when people try to console each other by saying, "well what's mean to be will happen." Unfortunately that's just not true! What is "meant to be" only happens according to our faith and our works. Heavenly father blesses those who are actively striving to keep his commandments and 'cheerfully doing all things that lie in our power.' THEN is when his grace comes in and he takes it from there. But we must first ACT and then have faith that God will fulfill all of his promises to us, his children! Because with God on your side, how can life possibly go wrong?!

One of my favorite scriptures ever is found in the Book of Mormon in Jacob 3:1 which reads,

"But behold, I, Jacob, would speak unto you that are pure in heart. Look unto God with firmness of mind, and pray unto him with exceeding faith, and he will console you in your afflictions, and he will plead your cause, and send down justice upon those who seek your destruction."

And again a great scripture by Paul the apostle which reads, "For God hath not given us the spirit of fear; but of power, and of love, and of a sound mind."(2 Tim.1:6-7.)

My prayer is that everyone can come to this knowledge and find the strength to have faith and hope amidst our hardest struggles in life. Because "men are that they might have joy" and so if we can't find joy in the journey then it seems like we are failing indeed. I know we all have the power to be happy and optimistic we just have to tap into that God-given power to overcome doubt, fear, and despair and truly come out triumphant!!