I Knew That It Was a Poor Spot.

Many of the most challenging portions of life come from unfavorable circumstances that are beyond our control. These may come by way of our placement on this earth. 

Perhaps, you were positioned into an environment which produces the greatest sorrow your heart will know. Blessed relationships that should have been experienced, and enjoyed, are forsaken by the very ones who were predetermined to lead and guide you. Your situation could be one of danger and peril, with hands that carelessly break your frame or shatter your soul. Your setting may be crowded with hardship, devoid of temporal or spiritual necessities which create an agonizing form of tribulation. Perhaps, those you love make impetuous decisions which demolish your hopes, and leave you breathless with the sins, which not only mark them, but also decay portions of your own life. Or maybe, your familial foundation, the unit which has been described as being the closest thing to celestial joy in this telestial sphere, is defective, fractured, or destroyed. It may be the most grim portion of your journey to endure through a life that was altered and transformed by the choices of another, whose consequences you, too, must now withstand.

It may be living within these circumstances or enduring such a misery that make us lose faith in the love of our Heavenly Father. Many of these situations may seem to void promised blessings, or may convince us that the shortage of what we so yearn for is a demonstration of His lack of devotion to us. We may question our self worth, analyzing the deficiencies within us, and concluding that we must be unsuitable for the affection of our Creator, of our Father.  

Perhaps, we define ourselves with terminologies that identify us as flawed or defective, and we begin to consider that perhaps His adoration passes such an imperfect and unworthy child. We may fail to develop a testimony, or may stray from the faith we once stood aside, believing that we are inadequate for His favor. However, a simple parable can liberate this type of burdened heart. It can release us from the chains which Satan has bound us by, which seek to drag us to the depths of hell where misery reigns. It can illuminate truth and help us to discover that perhaps our heartbreaking circumstances stand as the very symbol of His ever-present, His ever-abounding, His highest form of love, one which is filled with trust and duty.       

I have always delighted in parables. I appreciate the way they develop and expand each time they are read. Never do I study a parable with an identical outcome. They have the ability to adapt to the happenings of life and can be likened to an aching, craving, or perplexed heart. The parable given by the Old Testament prophet Zenos, retold by the prophet Jacob in the Book of Mormon, provides revelation relating to the challenging positioning of life.

In this parable Zenos tells of the olive tree. The olive tree stands as a metaphor for Israel, but can also stand as a representation of any son or daughter of God. Many profound truths are held within this parable relating to the scattering and gathering of Israel. When the olive tree begins to corrupt, the Lord takes branches off the tree and scatters them throughout His vineyard. In time, the Lord and the servant, which represents the prophet, comes to examine the branches of which He has spread. When the servant reaches the first and second branches which have been planted, he turns to the Lord and declares:

How comest thou hither to plant this tree, or this branch of the tree?  For behold, it was the poorest spot in all the land of they vineyard. Jacob 5:21

The Lord replies to His concerned servant, saying:

Counsel me not; I knew that it was a poor spot of ground; wherefore, I said unto thee, I have nourished it this long time, and thou beholdest that it hath brought forth much fruit.  Jacob 5:22

The Lord and servant go onto the second branch, and the Lord reveals:

Look hither; behold I have planted another branch of the tree also; and thou knowest that this spot of ground was poorer than the first.  But behold the tree. I have nourished it this long time, and it hath brought forth much fruit… Jacob 5:23

Three phrases brilliantly radiate throughout this parable which help us understand the majesty of our placement in earthly life.

I knew that it was a poor spot of ground.

I love the words, I knew. It reaffirms the personalization of our positioning. The Lord did not randomly send us to earth, dropping us into whatever setting we fell into. No, our tender Father does not work in such a way. His devotion to us surpasses all understanding, and He has been apart of every moment of our existence, helping us assemble and construct who we are destined to become. 

Because I have a testimony of this dedicated love, I have a firm belief that our Heavenly Father carefully and consciously places us into our earthly settings. He observed and delighted in us as we prepared ourselves for our opportunity on earth, and when we were organized, He provided our call. I believe that He attentively chose where we should be sent, taking all things into consideration, and supplying us with an invitation to produce good fruit unto Him. 

By accepting this understanding does it suggest that our Heavenly Father, the one who supposedly holds such love for His child, intentionally sent us into situations that are painful, upsetting, or even perilous? The answer is a powerful, Yes. Yes, He placed you in a difficult place. Yes, He knew that it would break your heart. Yes, He knew that it would try your faith. Yes, He knew that inequitable circumstances, some so intense that they have the ability to make you fall to your knees in desperation, would have to be endured. Yes, before Heavenly Father sent you through the veil, He knew it was a poor spot. 

Recognizing this we may cry out, Here! Here is proof of a faulty love, of a defective belief system, or even, an imperfect God! How quickly we seek to substantiate such things to reassure a throbbing heart. How rapidly we overlook the divine meaning of it all, and seek justice for a life that seems so unfair. This hunt for retribution is shepherded by Satan, and robs us of the ability to become refined because of the setting and placement of life. 

Indeed, the words spoken by the Lord of the vineyard to his wondering servant can resound with us, when He said, Counsel me not. When we seek to direct God and modify His decisions, we become subject to pride, and are deprived of the opportunity to be led and guided by His divine understanding, which enables us to acquire who we are meant to become by accepting and obeying His supreme wisdom. 

Do we ever stop to ponder on the other end? Do we ever reflect from the perspective of a Father who has let His child, the one He adores with a love that is illimitable, one whom He cherishes beyond comprehension, enter and exist in an atmosphere that will burden their souls? The most sincere form of heartbreak must accompany such an experience. 

As a mortal parent with young children, I exhaust myself in laboring to protect and safeguard them. I seek to dispel any harm and to ensure that their surroundings are filled with the sweetest form of joy and peace. However, I know that there will come a time when I will have to let them embark on their own, and assuredly, as I allow them their agency, will have to observe them suffer grief as they develop throughout the essential events of life. If I am an incomplete being, and feel an intensity of heartache over such a situation, how much more does a perfected parent grieve?

To build our testimony of His love, we must gain a firm belief that our assigned places upon this earth have not happened by unplanned or casual selection from a careless hand. Nor, were we situated because of a deficiency of love, or because we hold a lesser significance. Our positioning is the greatest indicator of His commitment to us. The customization of our lives is the surest way to recognize our divine possibilities.  

It Hath Brought Forth Much Fruit

The Lord has specifically chosen our placement for this mortal test because of His faith and heartfelt confidence in our abilities and potentialities. He knows us through and through. There is not a portion of who we are or what we can do that He is not aware of. Indeed, He knows and understands our souls and hearts far better than even we know ourselves. The depth of His knowledge, of who and what we are, stands as an emblem of His admiration and commitment to us. We are so dear to Him that He desires to have a firm understanding of every portion that establishes who we are. 

While in the premortal sphere we all prepared for this earthly life to prove ourselves worthy, but also rejoiced in the opportunity to labor in, and for, His kingdom. We yearned to produce good fruit unto Him. Our all-knowing Father knows exactly the circumstances we necessitate to bring forth that goodness. 

We must accept this opportunity boldly and cling to our calling fiercely, being constantly invigorated by His trust in us. We must stand strong against the torments of our heart, and dispel Satan who seeks to have us believe that what we have encountered comes from an unloving, inattentive Father. We cannot allow Satan to steal this individualized blessing from us. We must exert and surpass our surroundings, not allowing them to diminish our efforts in bringing forth that good fruit. We cannot let down our Father, but must continually seek to meet His expectations and achieve what He hopes for us. 

It is essential to note that this scripture is not implying that only those who have been sent to poor spots have a heightened ability to produce good fruits, nor that because one has been delivered into an advantageous existence that they are less able. Absolutely not. We have all been divinely positioned that we can bring the most good out of our specific circumstances. We are the best person to bring forth righteousness in whatever situation we reside. In fact, the Lord planted His third branch in a good spot of ground. His love, affections, and expectations for this branch duplicated that of the first and second. We all have the responsibility to utilize our positioning to further the work of the Lord.  

Lastly, we must never allow our circumstances to stand as an excuse for our lack of obedience. We must never hide behind them, employing them as a justification for our unrighteous decisions. The uncontrolled factors of our life cannot condone behaviors that do not align with the Lord’s commandments. Excusing ourselves of our duties because of our placement is nullifying the opportunities bestowed by our Father. We must allow our situations, especially our discouraging ones, to be a motivating force towards magnified righteousness. We must seek to allow our challenges to forge virtues of compassion and tenderness that we may console another who may exist in an identical existence. Truly, our disheartening circumstances can be the very source of spiritual elevation in our lives, if we will but allow it.  

I have nourished it this long time.

The most prized portion of this scripture: I have nourished it. 

The Lord does not deliver us into our earthly positions and then abandon, nor does He watch from the sidelines. Although this is a test, it is one in which He is intricately woven. The Lord never strands His child, and I believe, never more is He there then when our hearts are burdened. 

Our concerned Father, and loyal Savior, are present in every moment, through every hardship, during every portion of our tribulation. There is not a cry, no matter how dark the night, that They do not rush to soothe. There is not a physical or spiritual wound that They do not dash to heal. There is not a minute we are without Their reparative love. With every desire and yearning that goes unmet, aside every anxiety and worry, through every calamitous moment we must withstand, They can be found, and never in the background, but with Their hands enclosed on our own.  They are there.  

They carry us when burdens oppress our ability to continue onward. Indeed, if we trace back our lives, especially during our greatest moments of heartache, we will find Them. Their presence will illuminate so brightly and our ability to recognize Their existence will be so tangible that it will stun our hearts and astound our weakened souls. We will find that He truly nourished us, every moment of every day. He cared for us. He never allowed us to fall, nor did He permit the anguish of our positioning to overcome His child. He did not send us into difficult circumstances then leave us to withstand on our own. 

He was, and is, there. 

Recognizing that He is always present, helps us to realize that in order to experience His cultivation, we must allow it. We must permit Him to nourish us. We must enable Him to uplift us and buoy us during moments that we simply have to bravely endure. Gaining an understanding and testimony of the Atonement of our Savior is the surest way to empower His succor.

The Atonement is not one-dimensional, and it should not be viewed as such. True, the Atonement is our rescue from sin. Through, and by it, is the only way that we can secure a repentance of our transgressions. However, it is also the only source of complete solace that can be found on earth. It provides total relief from loss, deprivation, sorrow, and torture. Truly, there is absolutely nothing we will encounter in this lifetime that He cannot mend, repair, or make right. His sacrifice for us covers every single portion of pain or suffering that we will be faced with. 

Allow Christ into your life. Not in a when-I-need-Him way, but in an every-single-moment-I-simply-cannot-exist-without-you way. His hand will nourish and sustain us throughout our hardships. 

Regardless of our circumstances, with His love and nourishing hand we can sustain through anything. There is no form of abuse or neglect we cannot conquer. No abandonment or void of sustenance that we cannot overcome. We are under His care, the one who can move mountains with a single command and change the patterns of the drifting sea. The one who produces miracles and provides blessings that the eye hath not seen, nor the ear heard. We can dispel fear of our circumstances by relying on His hand to uphold us. We can endure. We will discover unmatched courage, unyielding fortitude, and unwavering tenacity. 

We have heard it declared that life was never meant to be fair. That can be such a difficult phrase to swallow when you are the one sitting at the inequitable end. However, as we have faith in our divine placement, acquire a testimony of our Father’s purposes, and depend upon the tender and all-encompassing aid which comes from our Savior, Jesus Christ, we will come to find that we are able to not only bear our unfair circumstances, but to completely defeat them. 

After all, He knew it was a poor spot, but He also knew we could be the metamorphosing element, so He sent us.  We must seek to be those who utilize the poor spot of ground in which we have been planted to become a majestic tree of good.