His Hand is Stretched Out Still

“And immediately Jesus stretched forth his hand, and caught him, and said unto him, O thou of little faith, wherefore didst thou doubt?”--Matthew 14: 31

Do you ever feel this way? Do you ever feel like the impetuous Peter, assuming intent, and with your best intentions walk out into situations you do not fully comprehend? If our actions are based in righteous desires to fulfill true principles, we can be assured that the Savior will stretch out His hand, and will pull us out of a seeming destiny of destruction. This is the essence of the Atonement, that supernal gift that keeps on giving if we truly receive it.

In the Old Testament, the Lord spoke through Isaiah in a similar vein. Isaiah Chapter 5 outlines a great cursing to the House of Israel, how we will suffer if we are carnally minded, proud, and in all things make the darkness seem as if it were light. But at the end of this lashing we see this great scripture:

Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people, and he hath stretched forth his hand against them, and hath smitten them: and the hills did tremble, and their carcases torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still. --Isaiah 5:25

How great it is to know that the Savior's hand is still stretched toward us, even as the hills do tremble on account of our sins! Let us strive each and every day to be properly grateful for this fact. For it is a fact, and we cannot hide ourselves from the perfect love of the Savior, even despite our best efforts to do so.

In the scriptures we see examples of this all the time, where individuals were pulled out of the seas, helped that they might fulfill their earthly missions. When we think of this type of redemption, we think of Jonah, Saul, Enos, Alma the Younger, the Sons of Mosiah, and Corianton. They all started, faltered, but finished in strength. Quoth the Apostle Paul at the end of his earthly ministry:

For I am now ready to be offered, and the time of my departure is at hand. I have fought a good fight, I have finished my course, I have kept the faith. --2 Timothy 4: 6-7

Now, not all of us are meant to be apostles. So what, then, is our course? We read in Moses 1: 38-39:

And as one earth shall pass away, and the heavens thereof even so shall another come; and there is no end to my works, neither to my words. For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.

As children of our Heavenly Father, his work becomes our work, and his course also becomes our course. We are to bring about the salvation and exaltation of those around us, starting with our families. The apostle Russel M. Nelson said:

Individual progression is fostered in the family, which is “central to the Creator’s plan for the eternal destiny of His children.” ⁹ The home is to be God’s laboratory of love and service. There a husband is to love his wife, a wife is to love her husband, and parents and children are to love one another.

Throughout the world, the family is increasingly under attack. If families fail, many of our political, economic, and social systems will also fail. And if families fail, their glorious eternal potential cannot be realized.

Our Heavenly Father wants husbands and wives to be faithful to each other and to esteem and treat their children as an heritage from the Lord. ¹⁰ In such a family we study the scriptures and pray together. And we fix our focus on the temple. There we receive the highest blessings that God has in store for His faithful children.

Thanks to God’s great plan of happiness, ¹¹ families can be together forever—as exalted beings. Our Heavenly Father declared, “This is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.” ¹² Both of His objectives were enabled by the Atonement of His Beloved Son, Jesus Christ. His Atonement made resurrection a reality and eternal life a possibility for all who would ever live.

I know that as we cultivate righteousness, we also will become righteous ourselves. We will overcome the natural man, and partake of the Atonement, drawing from the well of Living Water that never runs dry. It truly is amazing the love Jesus offers all of us. It is my testimony that His hand is still stretched out, and will be as long as we are willing to accept it.

Have a great week!