Day 62 His Hand Stretched Out Still

In Matthew 5:13, Jesus tells his followers that they are the salt of the earth, and in the same sentence offers a warning that savorless salt is good for nothing. Join me in an attempt to be savory salt as I share each day one verse of scripture and one small thought. Perhaps this small daily emphasis can lead to greater savor in your life, and ultimately you and I can be savory salt.

Hello, my friends and family, wherever you're listening from. Thank you for joining me and know that I'm cheering for every success. Welcome to Day 62 on our 365-day journey, reading the Book of Mormon a little bit each day.

I love today. I'm looking forward to today to share this with you. There's a segment in here that I love from the Isaiah chapters, and I want to share it with you today because it's a really, really good segment.

I'm so looking forward to today's episode and having you join me. If you are reading along today, you're going to read 2 Nephi 15, verses 13-30. So you're going to finish the second half of 2 Nephi 15.

This continues the conversation of the Lord's vineyard and the destruction that's coming through it. And we actually find out that that destruction is coming from the Lord. It is a direct consequence of the actions that Israel has taken against the Lord in not following his commandments and those people not keeping their covenants with him, with the Lord himself.

The verse today that we're going to dive into comes from verse 25, and it got a little bit rough on the front end of it, but hold on because the back end of it is such an amazing payoff, and it is for me encapsulating of who the Lord is in my life. So let's look at verse 25. This is 2 Nephi 15, verse 25.

It says, "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 carcasses were torn in the midst of the streets. For all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still." Now, the front end of this verse here, this is tough stuff.

I mean, carcasses torn in the midst of the streets and stuff. This is pretty brutal. There is definitely a smiting going on.

And remember, over the last couple of days, we're talking about being smitten of the Lord from the choices that you made. You're eating the fruit of your doings here. Your destruction is a direct consequence from the choices that you've made, the covenants you've walked away from.

And yet this last piece here just gets me fired up. And this is something that comes inside of the Nephi Isaiah chapters several different times. I love it because it is a phrase that I can associate with the Lord, my Savior, Jesus Christ.

The Lord has absolute consequences attached to our choices. And if we make choices that lead to destructive paths in our lives, we cannot hide from those. What's that hand doing?

Stretched out for what? I believe that the Lord's hand is stretched out still, waiting for us to reach to it. Waiting for us to put our hand out and say, "Lord, save me." It makes me think about the scenario where Peter wants to walk on water in the New Testament.

And he goes and he actually takes a couple of steps. And then as his faith begins to falter, he immediately turns to his Savior, Jesus Christ, and asks for the Lord's help. I love that reference because Jesus Christ is there with his hand stretched out, waiting, begging, pleading.

The Lord has to deal with the consequences of our choices, and at the same time, He's going to stand there with His hands stretched out, waiting for us to return, reach out to Him and say, "I choose you." That is a wonderful scripture to hold on to. That is a beautiful image to hold on to. And that is all we have for today, my friends.

Remember that "by small and simple things are great things brought to pass." Keep it small, keep it simple, and always seek to be savory salt. I'll be here tomorrow. Hope you are too.