A little…

For behold, thus saith the Lord God: I will give unto the children of men line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little and there a little; and blessed are those who hearken unto my precepts, and lend an ear unto my counsel, for they shall learn wisdom; for unto him that receiveth I will give more;

2 Nephi 28:30

The Lord reveals wisdom to us incrementally which is disappointing when we want immediate answers without delay.

The Lord dispenses a little truth here and there but zero in on the word little. It is critical that we act responsibly toward what we have already been given no matter how little it may seem to be.

Little things can be underestimated. I wonder how many people heard a baby cry in a stable one night long ago and felt irritated that their sleep was being disturbed.

We just moved into a new house and my grass is still mostly brown. I’m watering it exactly according to the specifications that the city has provided and that’s really all I can do right now.

There’s nothing I can do to force the grass to just suddenly turn green but that doesn’t mean that I just throw my hands in the air and give up on it. Nope, I make sure it gets its water and anything else it needs and I wait. Soon it will be lush and green and a pain in the butt as I’ll then have to mow it each week.

I could give up and let it die but then I’ll never have that lush green lawn. I could go out there and paint it green but the effect will only be temporary. There is a difference between a lawn that is simply green in color and a lawn that is green because it is thriving and healthy; ultimately the latter is preferable.

Sure, it will take several weeks and maybe into months before I see what I’m wanting to see but time will pass anyway, the future will soon be today and there’s only one way to ultimately have what I’m looking for.

Though I cannot discern the growth of the grass with my naked eye, I know that processes are at work that I cannot perceive. The same is true for our spiritual growth, we may sense stillness, but God in his power and this vast universe are always in motion working for our good.

I’ll need to be patient, and continue to nourish and care for what I have at the moment. God does the rest and invisible forces are already at work little by little, increment by increment. One day, the thing I desire will be right there in front of me and I’ll be glad that I stayed on that path.

There is an order to things and sometimes we cannot understand one piece of information without another. We demand an answer and God could give it to us, but if we have not traveled the path of coming to understand one critical missing piece then we will not understand the answer that we think we want.

This is why we must continue to search, ponder, and pray because as we pursue and receive little by little, we will grow into a state of understanding that will allow us to receive more.

It can be frustrating, but it is always rewarding.