Merry Christmas and may 2024 be full of Miracles!
All through the Christmas season, we talk of miracles. The birth of the Savior was without a doubt surrounded by miracles and we love to read about it from the Bible. It is soothing to see the hand of the Lord through miracles and perhaps this is why we feel and seek the Spirit of Christmas each year. We feel loved and cared for by our Heavenly Father and we are reminded that he has a plan for our salvation. This is comforting, just like a warm blanket on a cold winter's night. It communicates to us that everything will be alright.
But what about the rest of the year when we aren’t celebrating these miracles? We put the comfortable warm blanket away with the Christmas decorations and turn our attention to the demands and realities of life in the new year. Is this necessary? Or is it because miracles are a thing of the past and only granted to those living thousands of years ago?
If this is the case, then we really don’t believe or understand the Christmas story nor the purpose of the birth of the Savior. He came to save all mankind - every soul throughout all time. This is expressed in Mormon 9:19-21:
19 And if there were miracles wrought then, why has God ceased to be a God of miracles and yet be an unchangeable Being? And behold, I say unto you he changeth not; if so he would cease to be God; and he ceaseth not to be God, and is a God of miracles.
20 And the reason why he ceaseth to do miracles among the children of men is because that they dwindle in unbelief, and depart from the right way, and know not the God in whom they should trust.
21 Behold, I say unto you that whoso believeth in Christ, doubting nothing, whatsoever he shall ask the Father in the name of Christ it shall be granted him; and this promise is unto all, even unto the ends of the earth.
These are strong promises, but worth experimenting upon. When my daughter Megan was beset with physical challenges during her mission, she stated in a letter home: “Having Faith seems like the only sensible thing to do right now.” This seems like a good strategy going into the new year as well! But what about those of us who doubt or lack strong faith? In 2022, President Russell M. Nelson gave some great advice in the following statement:
The Lord will bless you with miracles if you believe in Him, “doubting nothing” (Mormon 9:21). Do the spiritual work to seek miracles. Prayerfully ask God to help you exercise that kind of faith. I promise that you can experience for yourself that Jesus Christ “giveth power to the faint; and to them that have no might he increaseth strength” (Isaiah 40:29). Few things will accelerate your spiritual momentum more than realizing the Lord is helping you to move a mountain in your life.“ (The Power of Spiritual Momentum, Liahona, May 2022)
Happy 2024! May it be full of Miracles!
