April 18, 2024 • 31 mins
The Real Reason Why We Get Stuck in Fear
In this episode, Amber Pearce shares her profound encounter with a homeless woman while waiting for her son, exploring the themes of choice, compassion, and divine guidance. She discusses the importance of understanding our divine assignments and the power of free will. Through personal reflections and biblical teachings, Amber highlights how incorrect perceptions of God fuel fear and hinder our spiritual growth. She urges listeners to engage in service and self-reflection to truly know God and discover the gifts they possess, emphasizing the impact of individual contributions regardless of magnitude and the exchange of divine gifts for service. The episode calls for a reassessment of our views on God, challenging listeners to seek a deeper relationship with the divine and use their unique gifts to aid in His work.
Get Freeze Dried food with 25 year shelf life by visiting www.amber.thrivelife.com and setting up a delivery to get 15% retail price and free shipping on order over $100.
00:00 Welcome Back & Gratitude for Support
00:29 Sponsor Shoutout: Thrive Life.
01:34 A Life-Changing Encounter: The Story Begins
01:57 The Harsh Reality of Addiction and Homelessness
06:23 A Divine Intervention and Personal Revelation
08:11 Understanding Our Divine Purpose and Gifts
13:26 The Parable of the Talents: A Lesson on God's Nature
16:12 Overcoming Fear and Misconceptions About God
22:56 The Importance of Giving Back and Knowing God
30:47 Closing Thoughts: Christ's Generosity and Hope
Mark as Played
Transcript
Episode Transcript
Available transcripts are automatically generated. Complete accuracy is not guaranteed.
Amber (00:00):
Hello, it's Amber Pearce with Hope Smiling Brightly and
welcome back.
Wow.
What a response from launchingmy first episode last week.
I can't tell you how grateful Iam that you listened in and for
all the fantastic reviews andsharing this podcast with other
people.
I truly can't express enoughgratitude So without further
(00:25):
ado, let's jump in to the nextepisode I am so grateful to be
able to have the time and meansto produce this podcast, but it
wouldn't be possible withoutThrive Life.
Thrive Life is the best freezedried food that you can possibly
find with a 25 year shelf life,high quality food, and a
(00:48):
delicious taste.
You cannot put a price tag onpeace of mind and preparedness.
So go to amber.
thrivelife.
com and set up a delivery to get15 percent off retail price and
free shipping on any orders overa hundred dollars.
(01:09):
President Spencer W.
Kimball taught, Before we cameto Earth, we were given certain
assignments.
While we do not now remember theparticulars, this does not alter
the glorious reality of what weonce agreed to do.
You're listening to episode two,The real reason why we get stuck
(01:32):
in fear.
I want to tell you about anexperience that changed my life.
I was sitting in a parking lotwith my windows down in my car
as I was waiting for my son tofinish his swim practice.
When a woman ran up to my car incomplete panic, she was begging
(01:52):
to use my phone, but I couldn'treally understand why or what
was going on.
I asked her what she needed,calmed her down a bit, and she
explained to me that she didn'thave a phone and she had to make
a virtual court date or shewould be fined and a warrant
would be put out for her arrestAs I observed her, I noticed
(02:15):
several things right off thebat.
She was homeless.
She looked young in some ways,but old and worn out in other
ways.
Her teeth were rotting.
Her skin was dull.
She had sores on her face,bruises on her body, scars down
(02:37):
her arms from drug use.
And I felt that I was supposedto help her.
So I explained to her that Iwould hold my phone, but I'd be
happy to help her join thisvirtual court date.
I dialed the number and we wereimmediately put into a virtual
waiting room.
(02:57):
And so we had nothing to do butto talk to each other.
And I was surprised at what Ilearned from her.
I asked her a little bit abouther situation, honestly, kind of
trying to fish to see was thereanything I could do besides
(03:19):
offer my phone to help her?
She explained that she had beenliving on the street for quite
some time.
She was addicted to drugs andhad been in and out of rehab.
She had a boyfriend who shepointed to sitting on a picnic
table, not far away, who oftenbeat her and I couldn't help,
(03:44):
but feel deep sadness as I heardher story.
But then I found myself askingher a question that honestly is
not a question I would normallyask.
But I remembered something as Iwas speaking to her, a dream I
had had just a few days earlierthat was similar to the
(04:06):
situation I was currently in.
In the dream, I was sitting in apark talking to a homeless woman
and I asked her a question andshe gave me a specific answer.
So I asked this woman standingin front of me, Do you choose to
(04:28):
be homeless?
And she looked at me andimmediately answered the exact
same answer that was given to mein the dream.
She said, yes, I choose thislife.
It's so much easier not havingto worry about anything.
All I have to worry about isgetting my next hit.
(04:54):
This broke my heart.
I asked her, just in one extradesperate reach.
Do you have any family, anyonethat loves you and is wondering
about you?
And she immediately said, Oh no,both of my parents are drug
addicts.
(05:14):
My siblings are drug addicts.
No one cares about each other.
At that point, the judge got onthe call, and it made me even
more sad to realize that thisjudge and this woman knew each
other well.
This hadn't been her first timeto court.
He quickly dismissed thecharges, waived any fines, and
(05:37):
the call was over.
I felt at a loss.
I knew in that moment there wasnot much I could do, for this
woman had made her choice.
There was a fast food restaurantjust on the corner, and I asked
her if I could go there and atleast get lunch for her and her
boyfriend.
(05:59):
And she was very grateful.
As I drove and got the food, Ijust felt overwhelmed with this
deep sadness and burden.
Just feeling helpless, knowingshe wasn't the only one in the
world with this situation.
And just feeling overwhelmed onhow do we help these suffering
(06:21):
children.
And in this moment of sadnessand desperation, I cried out and
asked, Heavenly Father, whyaren't you helping your
children?
And then something happened thatdoesn't happen often.
I got an immediate answer back.
(06:46):
It was firm, but it was kind andloving.
And he said to me, I am helpingmy children.
I helped you, and in that momentI saw something I had never seen
before.
(07:08):
I could have been that woman,standing in that park, addicted
to drugs, with nothing else todo, but wait for my next hit.
You see?
My parents started their familyin a hippie commune.
(07:30):
My mother was addicted to drugs.
My father was an alcoholic.
But the difference is, when Godreached out and opened the door
to a new path for them, theyused their agency to make a
better choice.
(07:52):
And that choice forever changedtheir life and the lives of
generations to come.
Also in that moment, I wasfilled with such gratitude for
the life I had been given.
You know, I had always beentaught in church, we're taught
(08:13):
that we owe our lives to God.
But in that moment, I actually Itruly saw and believed that my
life was not my own, my life hadbeen given to me and saved and
protected in ways I had neverseen before.
And I know that I am not theonly child of God that this is
(08:34):
the case for.
But what I also realized is thatjust as much as God is helping
us, he also respects our agency.
We have to choose.
And he'll reach and reach andreach again, but we have to make
(08:58):
that choice.
And the final thing I learnedfrom that experience is that one
of the most common ways Godintervenes is by sending us to
help each other.
It is so Important for us tolook around, follow promptings,
(09:22):
and use our lives to bless thelives of others.
I honestly wish I could findthat woman, tell her how much
she blessed my life that day.
One would think that I was sentto help her, but in reality, she
was sent to help me.
(09:43):
I wish I could reach out to thehome teachers that were brave
enough to walk Into a hippiecommune and invite my parents to
embrace the gospel of JesusChrist, how grateful I am that
they had that courage and thatlove to reach out to some of
(10:06):
God's children that many peoplemight dismiss as hopeless.
That day was another turningpoint in my life.
I was filled with this increaseddesire to return to God what He
had given me, to let Him take mylife and whatever you ask, I
(10:27):
will do it.
I think it will do us all goodto ponder what has God given to
us in our lives?
And what gift can we give back?
For years, I've had a scriptureon the wall opposite my bed so I
can see it every morning.
And the scripture says, beforeyou were born, I set you apart.
(10:51):
That's from Jeremiah 1:5, adaily reminder that I have a
work to do for him.
President Spencer W.
Kimball taught,"Before we cameto Earth, we were given certain
assignments.
While we do not now remember theparticulars, this does not alter
(11:13):
the glorious reality of what weonce agreed to." The neat thing
is, though, whatever we returnto God, He returns back to us.
Malachi 3, return unto me and Iwill return unto you.
(11:33):
So what is your tithe?
And obviously I'm not talkingabout money, but your gifts.
And he has the same promise whenwe give back our gifts.
Prove me now herewith, saith theLord of hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heavenand pour you out a blessing that
(11:58):
there shall not be room enoughto receive it.
I love this quote by Elder NealA.
Maxwell.
"The usual gifts and theirderivatives we give to him
should be stamped justifiably,return to sender, with a capital
S.
(12:18):
Even when God receives this onegift in return, the fully
faithful will receive all thathe hath.
What an exchange rate," closequote.
So why do we hold back whatwe've been given?
(12:38):
It's a powerful story in Acts 5of Ananias and Sapphira, a
couple who had promised theproceeds of the sale of their
land to God.
But when push came to shove,they sold the land and decided
to keep a little of the moneyfor themselves and lied and gave
(13:03):
the rest.
Now, thankfully we don't havethe same condemnation they did
where they were both struckdead.
But honestly, when we areconstantly holding back, our
spirits cannot really livebecause they are not filling the
measure of their creation.
(13:27):
We also have the parable of thetalents that teaches so many
profound lessons on theimportance of giving our gifts,
our lives back to God.
This is one of the most wellknown parables, but I think most
people miss the most importantthing taught in this parable.
(13:50):
Yes, the master gave oneservant, five talents, which he
doubled and another servant, twotalents, which he doubled and
another servant, one talent,which he decided to hide.
End of story, right?
No, what I wish people wouldtalk more about is that why, why
(14:12):
the unfaithful servant didn'tincrease the gift he was given.
Why was he unprofitable?
And spoiler Alert, it was notbecause he buried it.
It was not only because of fear.
Why did he fear?
(14:32):
Well, let me show you, andyou're going to be astounded.
I hope you never forget this.
So let's go to Matthew 25 andlook at verse 24, where the
slothful servant explains why hehid his talent.
(14:55):
He said, Lord, I knew thee, andthou art a hard man reaping
where thou has not sown andgathering Where thou has not
strawed.
Quite honestly, I would glaze bythis verse because I didn't
quite understand it.
(15:17):
I understood that he thought themaster was a hard Man, how would
you describe a hard man?
So he thought the master was astrict and authoritarian,
demanding, unmerciful, hard toplease.
And when he said about thereaping and gathering where he
(15:40):
had not sown or strawed, he'sbasically saying.
That he thought he was an unjustmaster.
He was saying, you make everyoneelse do all the work while you
relax.
And then you come in and get allthe benefit from our hard work.
(16:01):
So let's revisit that questionagain.
Why did the slothful servantfear the master?
Why did he bury his talent?
It was because of an incorrectperception of the Master this is
(16:22):
the same reason we hide our owntalents in fear.
It's because we don't know Godlike we think we do.
Because notice how he startedhis explanation with, I knew
you, but that couldn't have beenfurther from the truth.
(16:46):
What he knew was a lie.
So, do we do the same thing, saywe know God, but act in a way
that proves otherwise?
What are some of those incorrectperceptions we have about God,
and how might they stop us fromincreasing the gifts that we've
been given?
(17:07):
I found myself in this exactplace, paralyzed with fear,
because I was sure that God wasalways going to be disappointed
in whatever work that I didbecause it could never be
perfect.
I knew God was demanding that Hewas frustrated with me and hard
(17:28):
to please.
That if I didn't get the jobdone in a certain way, he would
accept it, but you could havedone better, Amber.
That's who I thought the masterwas.
Someone who was like me, focusedon the outcome instead of focus
on the effort.
When he's actually opposite, heloves our efforts.
(17:52):
Who cares about the outcome?
He's got that covered.
These perceptions paralyze,create shame, create anger,
create distrust, createexhaustion.
So what is his real nature?
He's not hard.
(18:12):
He's patient.
He's compassionate.
He's forgiving.
Merciful and incrediblygenerous.
He doesn't take, he gives.
He gives strength, miracles,angels, revelations,
encouragement, giving what youdid not know you even needed.
(18:33):
It's interesting that theslothful servant accused him of
taking from work that he did notdo when If you read these
verses, he did not take from theservant who produced 10 talents.
He did not take from the servantwho produced the four.
(18:57):
In fact, he did not intend totake from the slothful servant
who had one talent.
If you look in verse 25, hesays.
Lo, there, thou hast that isthine.
Basically, he was taking thetalent and giving it back to the
(19:17):
Lord.
Like here, I don't want it.
What's the big deal?
No loss, right?
And we might even get confusedby verse 26, where the Lord
repeats to the slothful servantexactly what he said.
But if you just put a questionmark at the end of verse 26, it
(19:41):
completely changes the meaningof this verse.
I feel like the Lord is almostspeaking in hurt that he has
been accused of being such anunkind master.
So read it this way.
His Lord answered and said untohim, Thou wicked and slothful
servant, thou newest, that Ireap where I sow not, and gather
(20:06):
where I have not strawed.
He's like saying, what are youtalking about?
You can't know that because thatis not me.
And here is even more mercy,more evidence.
Of the amazing character of Godin verse 27, where he says, you
should have just put the moneyto the exchangers, do the
(20:28):
minimum, it would have takenlittle effort and it would have
gained interest.
And I would have accepted that.
Do you see how gracious ourmaster is?
And so finally, though he didn'twant to, he took the talent that
the slothful servant offeredback to him.
(20:51):
and gave it to a servant whowanted it.
I always felt sorry for theslothful servant and thought God
was being a little hard on him.
But now I understand.
There is another example of notknowing the master and therefore
not letting him increase you.
(21:12):
In Malachi 3, the same verses Ireferred to when it comes to
tithing, where he promises thathe will give back whatever is
given.
And how do the people reply?
Down in verse 14, they basicallysay, there's no point in serving
God.
What does it profit me?
(21:32):
Look, look, look at that personover there.
They don't go to church.
They don't read their scripturesevery day and they're happy.
So why should I do it?
The proud are happy and thosewho are evil get away with it.
Comparison is dangerous as wellas seeing life as this
(21:56):
checklist.
Elder Neil a Maxwell said inpondering and pursuing
consecration, understandably, wetremble inwardly at what may be
required.
Yet the Lord has saidconsolingly.
My grace is sufficient for you.
Do we really believe him?
(22:18):
He has also promised to makeweak things strong.
Are we really willing to submitto that process?
Yet, if we desire fullness, wecannot hold back part.
Those that hold back those thatquestion God's ways.
(22:38):
It's because they don't knowGod.
and his grace and his promises.
They don't realize thatsacrificing all is the highest
return investment we could evermake.
So it might be helpful to ask,what is so precious to me that I
(23:01):
am having a hard time seeing thereal treasure that awaits me if
I have the courage to give itup?
Several years ago, I was sittingin a church meeting where it was
over, and then a member of thestake presidency got up,
(23:21):
apologized, and said that therewas one more thing he felt he
had to speak.
Before we left, something thatsomeone in that very room needed
to hear.
Of course, I just startedlooking around because, you
know, surely it wasn't me thatwas holding up the end of this
meeting.
(23:43):
And even when he started quotingsome verses from 2 Nephi 28
about how the people in thesedays would reject the word of
God and say, we need more, nomore, for we have enough.
I was like, sure.
Okay.
This is not me., Well, a fewdays later, I was sitting down
(24:03):
journaling and just ponderingeverything that I was so
grateful for.
I was in such a comfortable andcontent place in my life.
I really felt like there wasnothing more that I could ask
for.
And I found myself writing thatdown and expressing how, wow, I
(24:26):
have enough.
There's, there's nothing else Ineed.
And the spirit immediatelyreprimanded me.
And I realized that message fromthe church meeting was for me.
The thing that is precious tome, that I have a hard time
(24:47):
giving up, is my own comfortzone.
And I know I'm not alone inthis.
When things are going good, We,we don't want to rock the boat,
right?
But when we say, we havereceived and we need no more.
When we say we have enough, whathappens?
(25:11):
For unto him that receiveth, Iwill give more.
And from them that shall say, wehave enough, from them shall be
taken away, even that which theyhave.
Does that sound familiar?
Back to the parable of thetalents in verse 29 for unto
(25:31):
everyone that hath shall begiven and he shall have
abundance but from him that hathnot shall be taken away even
that which he hath.
What was precious to me what Iwas holding on to was Being in
my own comfort zone, beingcontent, not wanting anything to
(25:51):
rock the boat, not wanting tochallenge myself and do more.
Just keep it at status quo.
I found myself looking around atother women and being like, look
at her, she's just Being aregular mom.
Why do I have to do any more?
Why can't I be like this personor that person instead of
(26:12):
listening to what the spirit wastelling me?
That I need to do what gifts Ihad and what I could give back
to God So if the key toincreasing our gifts is to know
God.
(26:33):
How do we know him?
In Mosiah 5, 13, it says, howknoweth a man, the master whom
he has not served, and who is astranger unto him, and is far
from the thoughts and intents ofhis heart.
It starts with service.
(26:54):
And in that service, We love tocompare.
We're the ones that put value onridiculous things, we look
around and judge other people'sroles and responsibilities and
say, Oh, that person isdefinitely a five talent person.
(27:15):
That one's a two talent person.
That's a one talent person.
We rank ourselves.
That's not the purpose of thefive talents, the two talents,
the one talents.
It wasn't to show that God givesmore to some and less to others.
Think of it as just different.
Responsibilities that we in ourhuman nature like to put meaning
(27:39):
on those responsibilities.
He will whisper to you, who doyou think you are?
Or look at that successfulperson over there.
She is so much more importantthan you.
Why bother?
Or his role is much moresignificant than yours.
Don't try.
You'll never be enough.
(28:00):
But I love this quote fromPresident Hinckley as he was
serving as a prophet of God.
We are all in this greatendeavor together.
We are here to assist our Fatherin His work and His glory.
To bring to pass the immortalityand eternal life of man.
Your obligation is as serious inyour sphere of responsibility as
(28:26):
is my obligation in my sphere.
Wherefore, be faithful, stand inthe office which I have
appointed unto you, succor theweak, lift up the hands which
hang down, and strengthen thefeeble knees.
And in doing these things, thouwilt do the greatest good unto
thy fellow beings, and wiltpromote the glory of him who is
(28:50):
your Lord.
You have as great an opportunityfor satisfaction in the
performance of your duty as I doin mine.
The progress of this work willbe determined by our joint
Efforts, whatever you're callingit, is as fraught with the same
(29:11):
kind of opportunity toaccomplish good as is mine.
What is really important is thatthis is the work of the master.
Our work is to go about doinggood, as did he.
It is time.
Fill the measure of yourcreation, give it, and it shall
(29:36):
be given unto you.
Good measure, pressed down,shaken together, and running
over.
It will be poured into your lap.
At this point, I had a nicehandy checklist to give you of
all the ways that you couldstart to expand your gifts and
(29:57):
talents.
Instead, I want to give yousomething more valuable, a
question, a question to ask God,What incorrect belief.
Do I have about you and apleading, please help me to know
(30:23):
you better.
I also encourage you to do astudy of the many gifts of the
spirit and pray to know whichones you are blessed with.
And that God wants you to use tomove this work forward.
(30:47):
So until next time, remember,Christ is generosity.
Christ is hope.
Smiling brightly.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to listen today.
And if you enjoyed this podcast,please share it with others that
(31:07):
you think might be blessed fromit.
And thank you so much forleaving your ratings and
reviews.
Have a beautiful week.
Hello, it's Amber Pearce with Hope Smiling Brightly and
welcome back.
Wow.
What a response from launchingmy first episode last week.
I can't tell you how grateful Iam that you listened in and for
all the fantastic reviews andsharing this podcast with other
people.
I truly can't express enoughgratitude So without further
(00:25):
ado, let's jump in to the nextepisode I am so grateful to be
able to have the time and meansto produce this podcast, but it
wouldn't be possible withoutThrive Life.
Thrive Life is the best freezedried food that you can possibly
find with a 25 year shelf life,high quality food, and a
(00:48):
delicious taste.
You cannot put a price tag onpeace of mind and preparedness.
So go to amber.
thrivelife.
com and set up a delivery to get15 percent off retail price and
free shipping on any orders overa hundred dollars.
(01:09):
President Spencer W.
Kimball taught, Before we cameto Earth, we were given certain
assignments.
While we do not now remember theparticulars, this does not alter
the glorious reality of what weonce agreed to do.
You're listening to episode two,The real reason why we get stuck
(01:32):
in fear.
I want to tell you about anexperience that changed my life.
I was sitting in a parking lotwith my windows down in my car
as I was waiting for my son tofinish his swim practice.
When a woman ran up to my car incomplete panic, she was begging
(01:52):
to use my phone, but I couldn'treally understand why or what
was going on.
I asked her what she needed,calmed her down a bit, and she
explained to me that she didn'thave a phone and she had to make
a virtual court date or shewould be fined and a warrant
would be put out for her arrestAs I observed her, I noticed
(02:15):
several things right off thebat.
She was homeless.
She looked young in some ways,but old and worn out in other
ways.
Her teeth were rotting.
Her skin was dull.
She had sores on her face,bruises on her body, scars down
(02:37):
her arms from drug use.
And I felt that I was supposedto help her.
So I explained to her that Iwould hold my phone, but I'd be
happy to help her join thisvirtual court date.
I dialed the number and we wereimmediately put into a virtual
waiting room.
(02:57):
And so we had nothing to do butto talk to each other.
And I was surprised at what Ilearned from her.
I asked her a little bit abouther situation, honestly, kind of
trying to fish to see was thereanything I could do besides
(03:19):
offer my phone to help her?
She explained that she had beenliving on the street for quite
some time.
She was addicted to drugs andhad been in and out of rehab.
She had a boyfriend who shepointed to sitting on a picnic
table, not far away, who oftenbeat her and I couldn't help,
(03:44):
but feel deep sadness as I heardher story.
But then I found myself askingher a question that honestly is
not a question I would normallyask.
But I remembered something as Iwas speaking to her, a dream I
had had just a few days earlierthat was similar to the
(04:06):
situation I was currently in.
In the dream, I was sitting in apark talking to a homeless woman
and I asked her a question andshe gave me a specific answer.
So I asked this woman standingin front of me, Do you choose to
(04:28):
be homeless?
And she looked at me andimmediately answered the exact
same answer that was given to mein the dream.
She said, yes, I choose thislife.
It's so much easier not havingto worry about anything.
All I have to worry about isgetting my next hit.
(04:54):
This broke my heart.
I asked her, just in one extradesperate reach.
Do you have any family, anyonethat loves you and is wondering
about you?
And she immediately said, Oh no,both of my parents are drug
addicts.
(05:14):
My siblings are drug addicts.
No one cares about each other.
At that point, the judge got onthe call, and it made me even
more sad to realize that thisjudge and this woman knew each
other well.
This hadn't been her first timeto court.
He quickly dismissed thecharges, waived any fines, and
(05:37):
the call was over.
I felt at a loss.
I knew in that moment there wasnot much I could do, for this
woman had made her choice.
There was a fast food restaurantjust on the corner, and I asked
her if I could go there and atleast get lunch for her and her
boyfriend.
(05:59):
And she was very grateful.
As I drove and got the food, Ijust felt overwhelmed with this
deep sadness and burden.
Just feeling helpless, knowingshe wasn't the only one in the
world with this situation.
And just feeling overwhelmed onhow do we help these suffering
(06:21):
children.
And in this moment of sadnessand desperation, I cried out and
asked, Heavenly Father, whyaren't you helping your
children?
And then something happened thatdoesn't happen often.
I got an immediate answer back.
(06:46):
It was firm, but it was kind andloving.
And he said to me, I am helpingmy children.
I helped you, and in that momentI saw something I had never seen
before.
(07:08):
I could have been that woman,standing in that park, addicted
to drugs, with nothing else todo, but wait for my next hit.
You see?
My parents started their familyin a hippie commune.
(07:30):
My mother was addicted to drugs.
My father was an alcoholic.
But the difference is, when Godreached out and opened the door
to a new path for them, theyused their agency to make a
better choice.
(07:52):
And that choice forever changedtheir life and the lives of
generations to come.
Also in that moment, I wasfilled with such gratitude for
the life I had been given.
You know, I had always beentaught in church, we're taught
(08:13):
that we owe our lives to God.
But in that moment, I actually Itruly saw and believed that my
life was not my own, my life hadbeen given to me and saved and
protected in ways I had neverseen before.
And I know that I am not theonly child of God that this is
(08:34):
the case for.
But what I also realized is thatjust as much as God is helping
us, he also respects our agency.
We have to choose.
And he'll reach and reach andreach again, but we have to make
(08:58):
that choice.
And the final thing I learnedfrom that experience is that one
of the most common ways Godintervenes is by sending us to
help each other.
It is so Important for us tolook around, follow promptings,
(09:22):
and use our lives to bless thelives of others.
I honestly wish I could findthat woman, tell her how much
she blessed my life that day.
One would think that I was sentto help her, but in reality, she
was sent to help me.
(09:43):
I wish I could reach out to thehome teachers that were brave
enough to walk Into a hippiecommune and invite my parents to
embrace the gospel of JesusChrist, how grateful I am that
they had that courage and thatlove to reach out to some of
(10:06):
God's children that many peoplemight dismiss as hopeless.
That day was another turningpoint in my life.
I was filled with this increaseddesire to return to God what He
had given me, to let Him take mylife and whatever you ask, I
(10:27):
will do it.
I think it will do us all goodto ponder what has God given to
us in our lives?
And what gift can we give back?
For years, I've had a scriptureon the wall opposite my bed so I
can see it every morning.
And the scripture says, beforeyou were born, I set you apart.
(10:51):
That's from Jeremiah 1:5, adaily reminder that I have a
work to do for him.
President Spencer W.
Kimball taught,"Before we cameto Earth, we were given certain
assignments.
While we do not now remember theparticulars, this does not alter
(11:13):
the glorious reality of what weonce agreed to." The neat thing
is, though, whatever we returnto God, He returns back to us.
Malachi 3, return unto me and Iwill return unto you.
(11:33):
So what is your tithe?
And obviously I'm not talkingabout money, but your gifts.
And he has the same promise whenwe give back our gifts.
Prove me now herewith, saith theLord of hosts, if I will not
open you the windows of heavenand pour you out a blessing that
(11:58):
there shall not be room enoughto receive it.
I love this quote by Elder NealA.
Maxwell.
"The usual gifts and theirderivatives we give to him
should be stamped justifiably,return to sender, with a capital
S.
(12:18):
Even when God receives this onegift in return, the fully
faithful will receive all thathe hath.
What an exchange rate," closequote.
So why do we hold back whatwe've been given?
(12:38):
It's a powerful story in Acts 5of Ananias and Sapphira, a
couple who had promised theproceeds of the sale of their
land to God.
But when push came to shove,they sold the land and decided
to keep a little of the moneyfor themselves and lied and gave
(13:03):
the rest.
Now, thankfully we don't havethe same condemnation they did
where they were both struckdead.
But honestly, when we areconstantly holding back, our
spirits cannot really livebecause they are not filling the
measure of their creation.
(13:27):
We also have the parable of thetalents that teaches so many
profound lessons on theimportance of giving our gifts,
our lives back to God.
This is one of the most wellknown parables, but I think most
people miss the most importantthing taught in this parable.
(13:50):
Yes, the master gave oneservant, five talents, which he
doubled and another servant, twotalents, which he doubled and
another servant, one talent,which he decided to hide.
End of story, right?
No, what I wish people wouldtalk more about is that why, why
(14:12):
the unfaithful servant didn'tincrease the gift he was given.
Why was he unprofitable?
And spoiler Alert, it was notbecause he buried it.
It was not only because of fear.
Why did he fear?
(14:32):
Well, let me show you, andyou're going to be astounded.
I hope you never forget this.
So let's go to Matthew 25 andlook at verse 24, where the
slothful servant explains why hehid his talent.
(14:55):
He said, Lord, I knew thee, andthou art a hard man reaping
where thou has not sown andgathering Where thou has not
strawed.
Quite honestly, I would glaze bythis verse because I didn't
quite understand it.
(15:17):
I understood that he thought themaster was a hard Man, how would
you describe a hard man?
So he thought the master was astrict and authoritarian,
demanding, unmerciful, hard toplease.
And when he said about thereaping and gathering where he
(15:40):
had not sown or strawed, he'sbasically saying.
That he thought he was an unjustmaster.
He was saying, you make everyoneelse do all the work while you
relax.
And then you come in and get allthe benefit from our hard work.
(16:01):
So let's revisit that questionagain.
Why did the slothful servantfear the master?
Why did he bury his talent?
It was because of an incorrectperception of the Master this is
(16:22):
the same reason we hide our owntalents in fear.
It's because we don't know Godlike we think we do.
Because notice how he startedhis explanation with, I knew
you, but that couldn't have beenfurther from the truth.
(16:46):
What he knew was a lie.
So, do we do the same thing, saywe know God, but act in a way
that proves otherwise?
What are some of those incorrectperceptions we have about God,
and how might they stop us fromincreasing the gifts that we've
been given?
(17:07):
I found myself in this exactplace, paralyzed with fear,
because I was sure that God wasalways going to be disappointed
in whatever work that I didbecause it could never be
perfect.
I knew God was demanding that Hewas frustrated with me and hard
(17:28):
to please.
That if I didn't get the jobdone in a certain way, he would
accept it, but you could havedone better, Amber.
That's who I thought the masterwas.
Someone who was like me, focusedon the outcome instead of focus
on the effort.
When he's actually opposite, heloves our efforts.
(17:52):
Who cares about the outcome?
He's got that covered.
These perceptions paralyze,create shame, create anger,
create distrust, createexhaustion.
So what is his real nature?
He's not hard.
(18:12):
He's patient.
He's compassionate.
He's forgiving.
Merciful and incrediblygenerous.
He doesn't take, he gives.
He gives strength, miracles,angels, revelations,
encouragement, giving what youdid not know you even needed.
(18:33):
It's interesting that theslothful servant accused him of
taking from work that he did notdo when If you read these
verses, he did not take from theservant who produced 10 talents.
He did not take from the servantwho produced the four.
(18:57):
In fact, he did not intend totake from the slothful servant
who had one talent.
If you look in verse 25, hesays.
Lo, there, thou hast that isthine.
Basically, he was taking thetalent and giving it back to the
(19:17):
Lord.
Like here, I don't want it.
What's the big deal?
No loss, right?
And we might even get confusedby verse 26, where the Lord
repeats to the slothful servantexactly what he said.
But if you just put a questionmark at the end of verse 26, it
(19:41):
completely changes the meaningof this verse.
I feel like the Lord is almostspeaking in hurt that he has
been accused of being such anunkind master.
So read it this way.
His Lord answered and said untohim, Thou wicked and slothful
servant, thou newest, that Ireap where I sow not, and gather
(20:06):
where I have not strawed.
He's like saying, what are youtalking about?
You can't know that because thatis not me.
And here is even more mercy,more evidence.
Of the amazing character of Godin verse 27, where he says, you
should have just put the moneyto the exchangers, do the
(20:28):
minimum, it would have takenlittle effort and it would have
gained interest.
And I would have accepted that.
Do you see how gracious ourmaster is?
And so finally, though he didn'twant to, he took the talent that
the slothful servant offeredback to him.
(20:51):
and gave it to a servant whowanted it.
I always felt sorry for theslothful servant and thought God
was being a little hard on him.
But now I understand.
There is another example of notknowing the master and therefore
not letting him increase you.
(21:12):
In Malachi 3, the same verses Ireferred to when it comes to
tithing, where he promises thathe will give back whatever is
given.
And how do the people reply?
Down in verse 14, they basicallysay, there's no point in serving
God.
What does it profit me?
(21:32):
Look, look, look at that personover there.
They don't go to church.
They don't read their scripturesevery day and they're happy.
So why should I do it?
The proud are happy and thosewho are evil get away with it.
Comparison is dangerous as wellas seeing life as this
(21:56):
checklist.
Elder Neil a Maxwell said inpondering and pursuing
consecration, understandably, wetremble inwardly at what may be
required.
Yet the Lord has saidconsolingly.
My grace is sufficient for you.
Do we really believe him?
(22:18):
He has also promised to makeweak things strong.
Are we really willing to submitto that process?
Yet, if we desire fullness, wecannot hold back part.
Those that hold back those thatquestion God's ways.
(22:38):
It's because they don't knowGod.
and his grace and his promises.
They don't realize thatsacrificing all is the highest
return investment we could evermake.
So it might be helpful to ask,what is so precious to me that I
(23:01):
am having a hard time seeing thereal treasure that awaits me if
I have the courage to give itup?
Several years ago, I was sittingin a church meeting where it was
over, and then a member of thestake presidency got up,
(23:21):
apologized, and said that therewas one more thing he felt he
had to speak.
Before we left, something thatsomeone in that very room needed
to hear.
Of course, I just startedlooking around because, you
know, surely it wasn't me thatwas holding up the end of this
meeting.
(23:43):
And even when he started quotingsome verses from 2 Nephi 28
about how the people in thesedays would reject the word of
God and say, we need more, nomore, for we have enough.
I was like, sure.
Okay.
This is not me., Well, a fewdays later, I was sitting down
(24:03):
journaling and just ponderingeverything that I was so
grateful for.
I was in such a comfortable andcontent place in my life.
I really felt like there wasnothing more that I could ask
for.
And I found myself writing thatdown and expressing how, wow, I
(24:26):
have enough.
There's, there's nothing else Ineed.
And the spirit immediatelyreprimanded me.
And I realized that message fromthe church meeting was for me.
The thing that is precious tome, that I have a hard time
(24:47):
giving up, is my own comfortzone.
And I know I'm not alone inthis.
When things are going good, We,we don't want to rock the boat,
right?
But when we say, we havereceived and we need no more.
When we say we have enough, whathappens?
(25:11):
For unto him that receiveth, Iwill give more.
And from them that shall say, wehave enough, from them shall be
taken away, even that which theyhave.
Does that sound familiar?
Back to the parable of thetalents in verse 29 for unto
(25:31):
everyone that hath shall begiven and he shall have
abundance but from him that hathnot shall be taken away even
that which he hath.
What was precious to me what Iwas holding on to was Being in
my own comfort zone, beingcontent, not wanting anything to
(25:51):
rock the boat, not wanting tochallenge myself and do more.
Just keep it at status quo.
I found myself looking around atother women and being like, look
at her, she's just Being aregular mom.
Why do I have to do any more?
Why can't I be like this personor that person instead of
(26:12):
listening to what the spirit wastelling me?
That I need to do what gifts Ihad and what I could give back
to God So if the key toincreasing our gifts is to know
God.
(26:33):
How do we know him?
In Mosiah 5, 13, it says, howknoweth a man, the master whom
he has not served, and who is astranger unto him, and is far
from the thoughts and intents ofhis heart.
It starts with service.
(26:54):
And in that service, We love tocompare.
We're the ones that put value onridiculous things, we look
around and judge other people'sroles and responsibilities and
say, Oh, that person isdefinitely a five talent person.
(27:15):
That one's a two talent person.
That's a one talent person.
We rank ourselves.
That's not the purpose of thefive talents, the two talents,
the one talents.
It wasn't to show that God givesmore to some and less to others.
Think of it as just different.
Responsibilities that we in ourhuman nature like to put meaning
(27:39):
on those responsibilities.
He will whisper to you, who doyou think you are?
Or look at that successfulperson over there.
She is so much more importantthan you.
Why bother?
Or his role is much moresignificant than yours.
Don't try.
You'll never be enough.
(28:00):
But I love this quote fromPresident Hinckley as he was
serving as a prophet of God.
We are all in this greatendeavor together.
We are here to assist our Fatherin His work and His glory.
To bring to pass the immortalityand eternal life of man.
Your obligation is as serious inyour sphere of responsibility as
(28:26):
is my obligation in my sphere.
Wherefore, be faithful, stand inthe office which I have
appointed unto you, succor theweak, lift up the hands which
hang down, and strengthen thefeeble knees.
And in doing these things, thouwilt do the greatest good unto
thy fellow beings, and wiltpromote the glory of him who is
(28:50):
your Lord.
You have as great an opportunityfor satisfaction in the
performance of your duty as I doin mine.
The progress of this work willbe determined by our joint
Efforts, whatever you're callingit, is as fraught with the same
(29:11):
kind of opportunity toaccomplish good as is mine.
What is really important is thatthis is the work of the master.
Our work is to go about doinggood, as did he.
It is time.
Fill the measure of yourcreation, give it, and it shall
(29:36):
be given unto you.
Good measure, pressed down,shaken together, and running
over.
It will be poured into your lap.
At this point, I had a nicehandy checklist to give you of
all the ways that you couldstart to expand your gifts and
(29:57):
talents.
Instead, I want to give yousomething more valuable, a
question, a question to ask God,What incorrect belief.
Do I have about you and apleading, please help me to know
(30:23):
you better.
I also encourage you to do astudy of the many gifts of the
spirit and pray to know whichones you are blessed with.
And that God wants you to use tomove this work forward.
(30:47):
So until next time, remember,Christ is generosity.
Christ is hope.
Smiling brightly.
Thank you so much for taking thetime to listen today.
And if you enjoyed this podcast,please share it with others that
(31:07):
you think might be blessed fromit.
And thank you so much forleaving your ratings and
reviews.
Have a beautiful week.
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