Can You See the Hand of God?
After
discussing ways in which God’s work is moving forward across the world, Elder
Anderson asked this question in his most
recent general conference address: “Can you see the hand of God in your own
life?” This really stuck out to me and I’ve
been thinking about how to understand this question. There are perhaps a few ways to think about it.
One of the most common usages of the phrase “hand of God” in the scriptures is in the context of being on the right hand of God. For example, King Benjamin said, “Whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ” (Mosiah 5:9). In other words, if we truly know Christ, then one day after this life we will find ourselves seeing the hand of God because we will be there with Him. So perhaps we can consider the call to see the hand of God as an invitation to strive for salvation at His right hand. Another usage in the scriptures of this phrase has to do with God’s preservation. Alma spoke of how Lehi was saved because he was “brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God” (Alma 9:9). Captain Moroni quoted Jacob saying, “A remnant of the seed of my son [shall] be preserved by the hand of God” (Alma 46:24). King Benjamin spoke to his sons about how the plates were “kept and preserved by the hand of God” in order so that the Nephites could have the word of God (Mosiah 1:5). To see this kind of “hand of God” in our lives we must look carefully at how the Lord has protected us and our loved ones. The problem is that we usually don’t ever notice when we are protected—we only notice when we are not. How many thousands of prayers by LDS youth to “travel home in safety” have been answered without anyone noticing or giving thanks? As Elder Anderson quoted, the Lord has told us, “And in nothing doth man offend God … save those who confess not his hand in all things.” If we search for this hand in our lives, I think we will find it is daily present. Closely related to this are all of the unseen help and blessings that the Lord grants us, usually without us noticing. Nephi wrote of a remnant of his seed who would receive the gospel of Christ. He said, “And they shall rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God” (2 Nephi 30:6). We can see this hand in our life if we truly look to find it. Elder Eyring said this about his own way of recognizing these blessings: “I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: ‘Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?’ As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day” (Oct. 2007 General Conference). We are promised that if we seek, we will find, and if we seek earnestly to see the hand of God in our lives, I’m convinced we will find it. Ultimately the place where we hope to see in a more literal way the hand of God is in the temple. As we strive to understand God’s hand in our daily life, it will surely lead us to spend more time in His temples where we can prepare to be at His right hand for good.
One of the most common usages of the phrase “hand of God” in the scriptures is in the context of being on the right hand of God. For example, King Benjamin said, “Whosoever doeth this shall be found at the right hand of God, for he shall know the name by which he is called; for he shall be called by the name of Christ” (Mosiah 5:9). In other words, if we truly know Christ, then one day after this life we will find ourselves seeing the hand of God because we will be there with Him. So perhaps we can consider the call to see the hand of God as an invitation to strive for salvation at His right hand. Another usage in the scriptures of this phrase has to do with God’s preservation. Alma spoke of how Lehi was saved because he was “brought out of Jerusalem by the hand of God” (Alma 9:9). Captain Moroni quoted Jacob saying, “A remnant of the seed of my son [shall] be preserved by the hand of God” (Alma 46:24). King Benjamin spoke to his sons about how the plates were “kept and preserved by the hand of God” in order so that the Nephites could have the word of God (Mosiah 1:5). To see this kind of “hand of God” in our lives we must look carefully at how the Lord has protected us and our loved ones. The problem is that we usually don’t ever notice when we are protected—we only notice when we are not. How many thousands of prayers by LDS youth to “travel home in safety” have been answered without anyone noticing or giving thanks? As Elder Anderson quoted, the Lord has told us, “And in nothing doth man offend God … save those who confess not his hand in all things.” If we search for this hand in our lives, I think we will find it is daily present. Closely related to this are all of the unseen help and blessings that the Lord grants us, usually without us noticing. Nephi wrote of a remnant of his seed who would receive the gospel of Christ. He said, “And they shall rejoice; for they shall know that it is a blessing unto them from the hand of God” (2 Nephi 30:6). We can see this hand in our life if we truly look to find it. Elder Eyring said this about his own way of recognizing these blessings: “I wrote down a few lines every day for years. I never missed a day no matter how tired I was or how early I would have to start the next day. Before I would write, I would ponder this question: ‘Have I seen the hand of God reaching out to touch us or our children or our family today?’ As I kept at it, something began to happen. As I would cast my mind over the day, I would see evidence of what God had done for one of us that I had not recognized in the busy moments of the day” (Oct. 2007 General Conference). We are promised that if we seek, we will find, and if we seek earnestly to see the hand of God in our lives, I’m convinced we will find it. Ultimately the place where we hope to see in a more literal way the hand of God is in the temple. As we strive to understand God’s hand in our daily life, it will surely lead us to spend more time in His temples where we can prepare to be at His right hand for good.
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