Tuesday, February 9, 2016

30 Day Challenge: Day 30

Question: Should I continue to teach Zumba.
I had prayed about this before and felt like I had received the answer that God would strengthen me to be able to do it, but over the last several days I had also felt strained after doing simple physical activities and I was concerned about the health of our baby.

Answer: Yes. 2 Nephi 9:18, 21, 26 and Moroni 3:1-4
When I first opened to 2 Nephi 9. I read about people perishing and saw the words I had written previously in the sidebar "Don't do this!" and I thought "Ooh, maybe I shouldn't be teaching anymore." But then as I turned to read the highlighted verses on the opposite page, what I was reading was put into context, and my answer became clearer.
Verse 18: Speaks of the righteous saints who have believed in the Holy One of Israel and have endured the crosses of the world who will inherit blessings and joy. To me, this meant: believe and have faith in God's promise to strengthen me to be able to do my job, and magnify my physical weaknesses. And that I will be blessed and receive joy from it.
Verse 21: "He may save all men if they will hearken to His voice, for...He suffereth the pains of all men" = He will bless me if I hearken to His promise and do His will, and will take my pains (physical afflictions) upon Him (from me).
Verse 26: "The Atonement satisfieth the demands of justice...that they are delivered from that awful monster." = God's Atoning grace will magnify me, and He will deliver me from physical strain and strengthen me to do His will.
After reading these highlighted verses, I felt that the first verses I had read were a warning against not heeding God's counsel and wisdom (to continue to teach).
After reading from 2 Nephi and being a little confused at the conflicting messages I had read at first, I prayed again for Heavenly Father to let me know (either way) what I should do and to give me a positive answer (along the lines of doing His will) if it be right, and a negative answer (like death, destruction) if it was right for me to quit. Then I opened to Moroni 3:1-4.
Verse 1: ordaining teachers = I have been called to be a Zumba instructor.
Verse 2: Speaks of praying to the Father (as I just did for guidance).
Verse 3: "In the name of Jesus Christ...I ordain you to be a teacher, to preach repentance and remission of sins through Jesus Christ, by the endurance of faith on his name to the end." = God has called me to be a Zumba teacher at this time, to be a light and help to others, and I should endure, in faith, until it is time to stop teaching.
Verse 4: Speaks again of ordaining teachers, according to the "gifts and callings of God" = God has given me a talent for dance and a calling to teach Zumba.
I felt like this was the direct answer I needed and had prayed for about doing His will.

 February 10th update: Heavenly Father was good on His promise to give me the strength and energy to teach my Zumba class today, and to recover quickly from my physical strain, which is truly a miracle considering how strained I have felt after doing lesser activities this last week.

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