He Shall Consecrate Thine Afflictions

This week I got tired of 1 Nephi, so I skipped ahead to one of my favorite chapters: 2 Nephi 2.  It's a beautiful chapter that consists of Lehi's parting testimony to his son Jacob.  Lehi teaches Jacob some really important truths about the Atonement, agency, and the plan of salvation.  In my first 20 minutes, I did't make it past the second verse:

"Nevertheless, Jacob, my firstborn in the wilderness, thou knowest the greatness of God; and he shall consecrate thine afflictions for thy gain."

I've always loved this verse, with the reassurance that with the influence of our Heavenly Father, even our most terrible and trying experiences can work together for our good.  According to the Oxford Dictionary of English, the word consecrate means "make or declare sacred; dedicate formally to a religious purpose."  So, then, God will make our afflictions sacred for our gain.  But how?

I love how knowing the greatness of God is integral to this process.  Referring back to the dictionary, the word affliction comes from a word that originally implied "infliction of pain or humiliation."  It is hard to imagine a loving Heavenly Father inflicting pain on His children, but these afflictions come with the intent of humiliating us, or making us humble.  If we know and remember the greatness of our God and become humble before Him, He will be able to make our experiences sacred by blessing us to grow and develop the attributes of Jesus Christ.

Despite the pain I've experienced, I am grateful for even the worst afflictions I have experienced, because they have brought me closer to God and helped me to become more like the person that He wants me to be.  He has taught me that when I rely on Him, my most frustrating experiences become the most transformative.  Truly, all things work together for good to them that love God (Romans 8:28).  Being humbled can be  a very trying and uncomfortable experience, but it is only in the depths of humility that we are able to see both God and ourselves in the proper perspective and apply the enabling power of the Atonement of Jesus Christ.