By MICHAEL KELLEY
Trusting in the Lord and His promises even when things go wrong brings peace and joy into our lives, said Todd A. Britsch in Tuesday’s Devotional.
Britsch, a humanities professor, had five suggestions for trusting in God when times are tough in our lives.
“It is faith in what God has done for us and revealed to us through His Son that will strengthen our trust in Him when things go wrong,” Britsch said.
One way to trust in God is to know the ending.
“It is important to know that God’s promises of the ultimate triumph of goodness and righteousness are valid,” he said.
As a football fanatic Britsch said that it is easy to be calm when watching a re-televised BYU football game while aware of the outcome.
Mormon and Paul are examples of those that trust in God even when their lives were full of hardships, especially at the end, Britsch said.
“I believe that the characteristic that helped both Mormon and Paul face difficult lives with calmness and optimism is trust in the Lord and His promises,” he said.
He said that it is good to know how trials can serve us.
“At the time of trials, it is difficult for us to understand how suffering can be for our good,” Bristch said. “But all of us have had the experience of learning afterward what great gains we have made when things have gone wrong.”
He said Joseph Smith was a good example of this even until his death — his life full of tribulation.
“We become more trusting as we accustom ourselves to the divine presence of the Holy Ghost,” Britsch said.
As Latter-day Saints, it is our privilege to have the companionship of Holy Ghost with us daily, Britsch said.
He said, “Having a member of the Godhead always present in our lives should develop our trust to a high degree.”
Becoming alert to the influence of God, even in the midst of troubles, Britsch said was another suggestion of how to trust God.
“All around us there are signs that we too are in God’s arms, often when we are not completely aware of the fact,” he said.
He said that after his son’s death, his family was prepared to trust in God’s arm because of a General Conference Priesthood session speech by Elder Jeffrey R. Holland. In his talk, Elder Holland spoke of a mother who was struggling with the impending death of her son from leukemia.
Britsch said that we should learn that on this earth, God expects our obedience and best effort, not our perfection.
He said that God wants us to do the best that we can and then depend on Christ to help us with the rest.
