What Living in Brave Trust Looks Like
In 1 Nephi 4, Nephi and his brothers are in the process of trying to retrieve the brass plates, as the Lord had commanded them.
While I was watching the podcast “Don’t Miss This” as part of my personal scripture study they mentioned the phrase, “brave trust” regarding Nephi and what he had to do in retrieving the brass plates from Laban.
The phrase stuck with me, and in fact wouldn’t leave my mind. We can see this brave trust plainly in Nephi’s story, not only of the brass plates, but also later on in breaking his bow and building a ship. Nephi lived his life in brave trust of the Lord. It is something he repeatedly showed and tried to explain to his brothers. It is something they didn’t understand because they did not have the personal relationship with the Lord that Nephi did.
Living in brave trust means trusting the Lord and what He has asked you to do, even when it doesn’t seem to make sense to you or you don’t understand why you need to do what He has asked.
In 1 Nephi 4:1, Nephi tells his brothers about the Lord. “He is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than Laban and his fifty or even his tens of thousands?”
Now you and I do not often today face armies of armed men chasing after us intent on our destruction (at least I hope you don’t). This verse can be applied to more than just armies though.
What if instead it said, “ He is mightier than all the earth, then why not mightier than what you are facing with your health, or mightier than the debt you are in, or mightier than the battle you fight with fear or depression.”
We could put anything in there and it would still be true. The Lord is mightier than it all.
What battle are you fighting right now in your life? What is the Lord asking you to do that takes brave trust?
Nehi never asked the Lord how he was to retrieve the brass plates. He simply trusted that the Lord had a way and that it would be made known to him when it was time.
1 Nephi 4:6 – 7 says, “And I was led by the Spirit, not knowing beforehand the things which I should do. Nevertheless I went forth…”
As someone who plans and loves the structure of routine and knowing what to expect, this scripture has always made me wonder how Nephi did that. While I wondered for a long time, I think I finally figured it out, at least in part.
Nephi could do this because he knew the Lord. The Lord was the one he turned to time and again, in hardship or trial. He is the one Nephi asked questions to when he didn’t understand something. Each experience Nephi had with the Lord grew that relationship and built trust from faith. It is with that trust that Nephi was able to draw when he was led by the Spirit not knowing the things he should do.
We are asked to have a personal relationship with our Savior Jesus Christ just as Nephi did. Nephi showed us what that relationship could do. We are asked to do this because the Lord knows that the things He will ask each of us personally to do in our mortal journey will require living in brave trust.
It takes both faith and trust to step out into the dark in those very personal moments when there is no other way but forward and you don’t know what the next step is, simply that you must take it.
In verse 7 it says, “Nevertheless I went forth…”. Despite the criticism, despite what logic said, I went forth. I acted. I moved forward. I don’t know how it will work out, but I trust the Lord that it will. I can’t see to the end, just to the next step, and then the one after that. This is living in brave trust.
I think each instance Nephi saw it as a chance to know God better, to see him more fully in his life. In the instance of the brass plates, Nephi is led by the Spirit to Laban and told to kill him. I am sure this is not what Nephi was expecting. Indeed Nephi pushes back a bit, he questions and the Spirit takes the moment to teach him (1 Nephi 4:10 – 13).
Nephi questioned the Lord but he did not doubt Him or defy Him. He went forth and did as he was asked to do. Because of that a whole people were able to be taught and learn the word of God. They were able to come to know Him. They were able to live in brave trust.
How to Live in Brave Trust
- Set your heart on the promise, not the problem
Nephi always saw the promises that God made before he saw the problem. The problem did not fill his entire field of vision. It was just a challenge to be met or a step to be taken. What Nephi faced wasn’t really a problem to him.
His brothers saw nothing but the problem. They forgot the promises of God in large part because they did not know Him, and they took no time or effort to know Him. The result is that the problems in their view were huge insurmountable things. They couldn’t see a way to solve or deal with them.
Have you ever had a problem in your life that filled your vision completely? I have, and at times I still do. I have found that sometimes the negative is easier to believe than the good, especially when we can’t see how it will work out. Nephi didn’t know how any of the challenges and problems he faced would work out. He trusted in God that they would work out, that it would work for his good whatever God deemed that to be. He was content and secure in that trust and knowledge of God.
We don’t need to know how things will work out. We just need to know that because we are His children they will work out. We don’t need the how or the when. We just need to trust God that they will work for both His good and ours.
- Look to the scriptures, and apply what you know from scripture about God to your own life
The scriptures aren’t just a bunch of really cool stories that are fun to read. They are not merely a history of a people long ago. The scriptures are a guide. They are our own personal map through the wilderness of mortality. They give us the knowledge of who God is, Who our Savior Jesus Christ is, and who we are to them. They also give us in those stories the patterns and laws we are to live by while we journey through mortality.
In looking to the scriptures we, like Nephi can liken them to our individual lives. We can apply what we learn from them into our daily decision making and into how we choose to behave and what we choose to do in any given situation.
For example, I was studying 1 Nephi 16 this morning. This is where Nephi broke his bow. This was important because it was made of fine steel and as they are in the wilderness there was no way to replace or repair it.
Everyone, even Lehi, got angry at Nephi. If you have ever been hangry then you can understand. The pattern that is in the story is this:
Nephi’s bow broke,|
He decided to build a bow,|
Then he asked his dad what he should do and where he should go to find food,
Then he went where he had been directed and found enough food to feed his whole family.
So when something in your life breaks, first work to repair or replace it. Next go to your Heavenly Father and ask for His guidance and direction. Then go and do what you received. That is the pattern. It can be applied to any problem or challenge any of us are facing or may face.
- Look back on your own experiences and do not doubt
We have all had experiences where we were directed or taught by the Spirit. Some we may recognize and others we may look at as coincidence. I don’t believe in coincidence. In my experience those times are tender mercies or miracles given in a time they were needed by the Lord.
We need to recognize and remember those times. This is easier if you write them down. When we face challenging or hard times we need to remember those experiences. We need to hold them close to our hearts. Most importantly we need to not doubt them.
Nephi consistently referred back to previous experiences. He remembered how God had helped, saved, or directed in those times. He repeated them to his brothers, reminding them of what their fathers had experienced and what they had experienced. He reminded them that God is good. That He loves us. That He directs us. That He saves us.
Remember, Record, and Rehearse the positive spiritual experiences you have had and they will strengthen you.
- Allow yourself to be led by the Spirit not knowing beforehand what you should do
This is a harder one for me. I like to know where I am going, how things work, and why I am doing what it is I am asked to do. This isn’t how being led by the Spirit works.
Being led by the Spirit takes both faith and trust. Faith that what you are doing is right and that it has a purpose. Trust that you will know the next step when you need to take it.
One of my favorite images of this is being led to the edge of a cliff and asked to step off of it. One of two things will happen: either you will step on solid ground or you will learn how to fly. What won’t happen, you won’t fall. That has been my experience in being led by the Spirit. It is hard, sometimes it doesn’t seem to make sense to us, but it will never let you down.
- Nevertheless I went forth. Go forth and do what the Spirit tells you to do.
This is so important. We must act. We must do what the Spirit leads us to do. We must move forward. Whether it is a small thing or a great thing. Whether we are asked to call a friend or build a ship. We will never be asked to do something we are not capable of. Great or small the Lord only asks us what we are capable of. He also always prepares a way for us to accomplish what He has asked. He never asks the impossible, even if it feels like that at the time.
In my experience everything the Lord has asked of me has been for my protection, growth, development, and refinement into becoming who He knows I am capable of being. The things He asks often help both others and myself. It is only possible for them to do that if nevertheless I go forth and do them.
- Remember the purposes of the Lord
Moving forward by being led by the Spirit can be difficult. It helps to remember the purposes of the Lord when we face challenging times. In Moses 1:39, we are told what God’s purpose is. “For behold, this is my work and my glory—to bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man.”
We are God’s purpose. Our lives and what they can change us into are His purpose. Helping us to attain immortality and eternal life, and indeed all that the Father hath is His purpose.
We are told in Alma 37:7, “And the Lord God doth work by means to bring about his great and eternal purposes; and by very small means the Lord doth confound the wise and bringeth about the salvation of many souls.”
We think of the great things God has done often when we think of how He works. Things like parting the Red Sea, or flooding the earth. Great things. More often, God works by small means to accomplish His work. When we remember that we are His work we can understand more the small and simple things that move His work forward. Things like calling a friend who is on your mind, or doing your ministering. Things that serve others, and change our hearts. Personal prayers, quiet time for studying the scriptures, being kind, or humbling yourself and submitting to His will for your life instead of your own.
All are His work to bring about His purpose, our immortality and eternal life. Remember you are His purpose.
- Remember the Lord is Mighty
When we are having a hard time moving forward. When fear causes us to stop. Remember that the Lord is mightier than all. Mightier than all of our problems. Mightier than all of our fears. Greater than the seemingly insurmountable mountain that you have to climb.
Remember that He is mighty in your life and for you. For your aid, for your success, for your benefit, for your growth. He is and will be mighty in your life for you.
- Follow Me – Get to know God better in your journey
When Nephi left Jerusalem with his family he was only 16 years old. He was young. The time he spent in the wilderness with his family took years. Years where Nephi grew to adulthood. Years where he learned the ways of the Lord. Years where He came to know the Lord personally.
As you journey through all of the ups and downs in your life, get to know the Lord. Come to know your Savior Jesus Christ personally. Take the opportunity to see the hand of God in your life. In all the small moments and in all the beauty that surrounds you.
The journey will most assuredly be hard. There will be times that your heart breaks and your soul mournes. Look to your Savior in those moments. Reach out to Him and He will comfort you. He will heal your broken heart. Recognize the tender mercies He extends to you. The times when you didn’t think it was going to work but it did. Thank Him for them.
As you look for Him and to HIm in your journey you will come to know Him better. You will gain a deeper understanding and an unshakable foundation because you know who your Savior is and who you are to Him.
Take the time to get to know God in your journey.
- The Lord will strengthen you so you can do what He has asked you to do.
Sometimes what the Lord asks you to do seems so big and so daunting. Know as Nephi did that the Lord will strengthen you so you can do what He has asked you.
Anyone who has started an exercise routine knows that at the very beginning you feel like the weakest thing alive. You work hard and push your physical limits in trying to build muscle and get stronger. It is the same when we are asked to do something from the Lord that seems so daunting.
As strong and smart as Nephi was building a ship was outside of his experience. Not only did he need to build the ship for his family to travel in but he had to start by building the tools he would need to use first. This was no small task. He had to find the ore. He had to get it out of the earth. He had to refine it. He had to build mold for the tools to be cast in. He then had to forge the tools so they were strong and honed for use. All before actually building the ship.
When you feel like you are weak or that you are not up to what the Lord has asked you to do remember that He will strengthen you. Remember Nephi built a ship by starting with building the tools he would need. It takes both physical and mental muscles to build something for the Lord. Especially when it is under His direction. He will strengthen you so you are able to do what He asks.
- You need not fear – 1 Nephi 4:33, Isaiah 41:10
Doing what the Lord has asked us to do can at times be scary. Sometimes, we are asked to do things that are way outside of our comfort zones. Things that seem so big, or that would leave us vulnerable.
For me starting and building this blog seemed that way. My relationship with my Savior is deeply personal. Sharing it with all of you was in the beginning more than a little terrifying. However it was what I was asked to do. The more I have done so. The more I have followed what the Lord has asked of me the less fear I feel.
We need not fear. Isaiah 41:10 is one of my favorite scriptures. “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee with the right hand of my righteousness.”
There are so many promises in these few lines. “I am with thee”, He is with us, we need not fear because we are not alone. We are with our Savior Jesus Christ. He is by our side, working with us.
“Be not dismayed; for I am thy God”, He is our God, we have no reason to be dismayed or overwhelmed by what He asks of us. He is our God and He is mighty, loving, understanding, merciful, kind and so many more things that listing them all would make this post go on forever. He knows you. He knows what you need to grow and who you can become. He knows what you are capable of and how it will work for your good. Living in brave trust is knowing He is your personal God.
“I will strengthen thee; yea I will help thee; yea I will uphold thee by the right hand of my righteousness.” Because He is with us, because He is our personal God, because he loves us beyond measure; He will strengthen us. He will help us. He will uphold us when we are weary and worn. We do not need merely our own strength to do the things that the Lord asks us. We need His strength, His power, His direction. All of that is there for us. As we follow His direction through the Holy Ghost we will have access to the strength, help, and direction He has for us. As we yoke ourselves to Him with our covenants we gain access to the power and strength He has to give us.
- You will have a place with God, there is a place for you – 1 Nephi 4:34
There is a place for each of us. A path and a purpose to our lives. Nephi offered Zoram a place, and in so doing set him on a path to better know God. Nephi gave him the opportunity to discover and choose to walk a path that was laid and led by the Savior.
It can be extremely difficult when we don’t feel like we fit where we are. It can be painful and lonely. When we experience times like this we need to remember that we have a place with our Savior Jesus Christ. He is our Savior and Redeemer. He is also our elder brother and friend. We can turn to Him when we feel alone. When we feel out of place or unsure of where we are meant to fit in.
He knows what it is to feel cast out. He knows what it feels like to be lonely and to carry a great burden. He was alone for a time in the garden of Gethsemane and He carried the weight of the world’s sins, sorrows, afflictions, and heartbreak on his shoulders and in His soul.
So when you are lonely, or bereft; when you feel you carry the weight of the world on your shoulders; remember Him. Turn to Him and know with Him you have a place. He will ease your burden and heal your wounded soul.
- Bring others along with you on the journey
Parts of the journey are meant to be traveled with others. Nephi traveled with his family, with Zorom, with Ishmal and his family. Along the way Nephi taught, led, and showed them the love that the Lord had for them.
As you journey, remember to reach out and bring others to you as you come unto Christ. As you follow Him, gather others with you. In journeying together we learn from one another. We learn from each other’s experiences, and from each other’s perspectives. Seeing through the eyes of another can change our perspective, deepen our love for one another, and help us understand each other. In doing so we develop a greater love for each other and fulfill the second great commandment to love one another as He loves us.
Gathering, sharing, bonding, and helping; all bring us closer to our Savior. All bring us further down our personal covenant path. All bring us closer to returning home to our Heavenly Parents.
- Hold fast to the promises the Lord has made you, celebrate them even if they haven’t happened yet.
Lehi celebrated his redemption hundreds of years before the Savior was born. He worked, prayed, and followed the Savior of the world long before He even set foot on earth.
We can celebrate the promises that have been made to us. All of the many promises, those found in the scriptures, those found in the temple, and those that we are given personally and privately through revelation. Live as though they have already happened. Celebrate with joy and gratitude the promises the Lord has given you.
As we do this we have the hope that precedes and bolsters the faith we need to act and do the things that He has asked us to do.
- Learn and speak the language of faith – 1 Nephi 5:6, It was the language of faith that comforted Sariah. What would God say?
Both faith and fear have their own language. Which one we choose to speak determines how we choose to live and what we choose to do.
In 1 Nephi 5, Sariah is afraid. She is certain that her sons have perished. She complained against Lehi because she was afraid for her sons. Sariah was speaking the language of fear. In verse 6 Lehi comforts her using the language of faith. Sariah is comforted because she knew her Savior. She trusted Him.
- You can change the language that you speak, and changing the language you speak changes everything.
In 1 Nephi 5:8 Sariah receives the witness to the trial of her faith. It was a trial for Sariah, having her sons go back to Jerusalem. It was dangerous to travel. It was dangerous to deal with Laben. This wasn’t just a quick trip to get a book for dad. Their journey tried Sariah’s faith. In verse 8 Sariah says, “Now I know of a surety that the Lord hath commanded my husband to flee into the wilderness; yea, and I also know of a surety that the Lord hath protected my sons, and delivered them out of the hands of Laben, and given them power whereby they could accomplish the thing which the Lord hath commanded the. And after this manner of language did she speak.”
This is the language of faith. Sariah knew now with a surety that her husband led their family in faith. She knew that the Lord would protect those that He called to travel and to follow Him. She knew that when the Lord asks us to do something that He prepares a way for us to accomplish what He asked.
The most impressive part is that Sariah changed the language that she spoke. This is something each of us can do as well. What language are you choosing to speak, faith or fear? Know that even if you are at a point in your life when you are speaking the language of fear, you can change the language that you speak. You can speak the language of faith.
Living in brave trust of the Lord can be hard, but it is not impossible. We are each fully capable of living a life that shows our trust in the Lord. We each can yoke ourselves to Him. We can use His strength and power to overcome and make it through wherever we are and whatever we are asked to do. We can choose to speak the language of faith. It is possible. All we need to do is turn to Him. Follow Him. Trust Him.
