- Be thankful. Look for things to be thankful for, and focus more thoughts on why certain things deserve gratitude. Among the things to remember most often are the Atonement of Jesus Christ and the personal miracles He's given me in my life.
- Look for the good in others. Rather than thinking about my wants and needs, look first to be interested in others, and find praiseworthy things in their behavior and character. Praise them. As I do this my love for others grows.
- Repent constantly. Mistakes happen everyday. How long should I wait to apologize to God and promise to do better? As soon as I recognize the error, that is the time to repent. Repent every day, every hour, every minute as necessary.
- Seek the Lord's will. In everything I do, try to keep a prayer in my heart, seeking to do what He would have me do, regardless of my own preferences or even my own convictions.
- Pray for it. At times the response will be difficult. Other times the answer will be tender and sweet. Be ready to accept whatever answer the Lord gives--be willing to do whatever He recommends.
- Serve others. One of the best ways to improve myself is to act like I would if I were already the kind of person I want to become--practice makes perfect. Humble people are always in the service of others.
Humility brings inner peace and peace to those around you. Sometimes we are compelled to be humble because of life experiences, but the Lord is most pleased when we choose to be humble of our own free will. But gaining humility is not as easy as simply deciding not to be prideful. It takes effort. Below are some methods I've found to be helpful in building and maintaining humility:
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I often come across individuals who claim God has "abandoned" them. They have borne the brunt of hard times and wonder why there is no heavenly intervention on their behalf. In their eyes, it seems that God has forsaken them.
There are two reactions to this perceived abandonment. One is to continue to have faith, and the other is to give up. Satan tries to tell people who perceive that God has abandoned them that God must not care enough about them, so they might as well not care as much about Him. Through this and related lies, Satan helps lead people into more and more sin. Sinful living breeds further difficulties in life which are often again blamed on God's abandonment, even though many of these challenges are self-inflicted. In the midst of this pattern of turmoil, sometimes a person decides to set aside their bitter feelings. They are in such dire need that they turn back to God because they see nowhere else to turn, and in spite of everything they finally acknowledge to themselves that He is the one source where there may be hope for some measure of happiness. Those who either choose up front to remain faithful, or who later return to God as a prodigal son or daughter, eventually learn the same lesson. God's abandonment wasn't really abandonment at all. Like a perfect loving father who watches his little child learn to ride a bicycle, He held back from picking His child up each time they fell. Though His heart aches each time his child cries and calls out with pain, He knows that real knowledge comes through experience. Rather than solving His children's bicycling trials, He works to comfort and console, to encourage and guide. When a hill is too steep for weak legs to climb alone, He gives the support that is needed. Though the child is unaware, the Father is keeping the child in a path that provides only challenges that can be overcome. Though the roads are paved at first, mountain trails come once the child is able to bear the challenge. If this is abandonment, we should seek more of it. A baby must eventually be weaned, and a child must eventually learn the strength to live on his or her own. All our most difficult challenges are for our experience, and will be for our good. We can overcome them to the extent that we are faithful to our Father's guidance. We lived with God, our Father, as spirits before we were born. He knew we had to leave His presence to learn on our own if we were ever to become like Him. We knew there would be challenges and difficulties, and we knew they would be hard. But we were extremely grateful for the opportunity--so much so that we shouted for joy. We've forgotten that time of joy. We've forgotten the fact that we chose to come here and endure extreme hardship, where our Father would not solve our problems for us. But if we turn away His loving guidance completely, we'll never learn how to become like our Father. Vigilance is watchfulness, alertness, or attentiveness. Vigilance in working toward eternal life is most difficult during the easy times. When we have blessed for so long, then it is easiest to be less diligent. |
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