For Our Good

"He doeth not anything save it be for the benefit of the world." (2 Nephi 26:24)

There are verses that comfort me, and then there are verses that settle deep into my soul. This is one of them.

The Lord does nothing except for our good. Nothing.

That includes the disappointments we never saw coming, the prayers that seem unanswered, the unexpected detours, and yes, perhaps even the freeway gridlock that tests our patience on an extraordinary challenging Friday afternoon rush hour.

At first glance, that can be hard to believe. If God loves us, why doesn't He remove every obstacle from our path? Why doesn't He swoop in and fix every difficult situation?

Because growth rarely comes through ease. A quote on my daughter’s family board is perfect: "Little growth occurs in a comfort zone, and there is little comfort in a growth zone." 

The Lord does not create every hardship we face, but He allows us to walk through a world where choices have consequences and mortality is real. In those moments, we are given opportunities to choose. Will we surrender to anger, frustration, and fear? Or will we place the situation in the Lord's hands and trust Him?

That trust is the source of true confidence.

Not confidence in ourselves, but confidence in God. Confidence that whatever is happening in our lives, He can use it for our good.

Joseph Smith learned that lesson in the depths of Liberty Jail. The Lord told him:

"And if thou shouldst be cast into the pit, or into the hands of murderers ... know thou, my son, that all these things shall give thee experience, and shall be for thy good." (D&C 122:7)

Those words don't erase our trials, but they change how we view them. They remind us that God is not absent from our struggles. He is shaping us through them.

Nephi closes this chapter with another truth that I love. After teaching of the Lord's goodness, he teaches of charity. Without it, we are nothing. Charity is the pure love of Christ—a love that reaches beyond differences, prejudices, and labels.

Then comes one of the most beautiful invitations in scripture:

"He inviteth them all to come unto him and partake of his goodness; and he denieth none that come unto him, black and white, bond and free, male and female ... and all are alike unto God." (2 Nephi 26:33)

All are alike unto God.

What a blessing it is to know that. And what a responsibility.

If we truly believe that the Lord is working for the benefit of all His children, perhaps it should change the way we respond in the heat of the moment. Perhaps it should make us a little more patient, a little more charitable, and a little more willing to trust that God knows what He is doing.

I am still learning that lesson.

But I find peace in knowing that whatever the Lord allows into my life, His purpose is never to harm me. His purpose is to help me become something more than I am today.