"Why can't he just cause a miracle to happen so my aunt can be freed from cancer?"
"Why can't there be a sign for me? I'd love to have a miracle or two in my life!"
"My child is in pain, and so am I. As a part of the things I have done wrong, she has chosen decisions that are destroying her body and spirit. She will die young, her children will be without a mother, she shows problems that could have been so easily prevented. She rejects the Lord, who could have helped her through her problems, or prevented everything. Her pain is mine, and it really is like an eternal flame. Why can't there be a miracle for her?"
"My grandchild is in the hospital. He's so young and doesn't even understand the pain he is feeling. He is too young to know what pain is, and too young to know that we love him, too young to know we are helpless to comfort him. In a time when he should be loved, held and warmed in a blanket, all we can do is touch his feet and talk to him - knowing that he can't understand us. His pain is his alone, and we can't help. Why can't there be a miracle?"
Our wish for a quick fix, a miracle, is human. It would all be so much easier if it was easier. This is not unique to our age, nor is it unique to believers and unbelievers. In Alma chapter 30, Korihor was the guy who thought he was smarter than, and used words to deceive. His thing was that you couldn't know that Christ would come. His words and message was that you can't know about what's going to happen - because it hasn't happened yet. While his words were about appearing smarter and above the believers, I suspect his motive was to gain admiration and followers, then live the lifestyle he wanted. He cared little for the people he was leading away, and was about getting a position and a lifestyle for himself. It appears to me that if he had to lead thousands to an inner death, despair and emptiness, that was fine for him as long as he was their leader.
Korihor was brought before the prophet, and he wanted a sign. Alma 30:48 "...I say that ye do not know that there is a God; and except ye show me a sign, I will not believe"
So Alma, the prophet at the time, was able to call down a sign. Korihor was struck speechless. Then he admits, via writing, that he was wrong. "OK" he says basically "I get it - that was a sign. Now fix me." And Alma responds "I don't think you would change your ways, but we'll leave that up to the Lord." And the Lord in his infinite wisdom - doesn't fix him. It's not about the signs we get or don't get, it's about who we are.
Korihor wasn't about being right or wrong in the matter, he was about using a message to make himself famous - admired among his followers. This whole inability to speak thing would put a huge dent in his ability to do that.
Word spread, and the same people that followed him and his message rejected him. They had heard of the miracle too, but they could still talk, and now K was an embarrassment. They still wanted to believe their beliefs - the ones that K had been teaching them - the ones that had been proven wrong. So now he was inconvenient. He went to the center of what had been his base to try to get enough support to survive, and they killed him by running over him. His miracle, while undeniable to them, wasn't their miracle - they didn't want to acknowledge that miracle because it would have required them to change their beliefs and actions. So - the evidence was discarded and executed. Not by the believers in the church, but by the people who had formerly worshiped him. These same people would have asked for a sign themselves and said they would believe. They got one from their leader. No change. The Lord knew this would happen of course.
And perhaps this is why we don't always get a miracle when we wish for one. Sometimes the hard stuff is there so we can come out on the other side strengthened. Perhaps the Lord needs us to overcome hard stuff, and sometimes what we perceive to be hard so we can know eventually that we can overcome. And sometimes things get hard because our choices cause a hard life. In any case, really choosing the Lord can ease our burden to a level we can manage.
I just started singing in ward choir. This is a huge step for me because I'm very uncomfortable singing even in my basement - let alone in front of people. I can't read music and I try to remember if that note in the line means it's a G or C. It's been too long since 8th grade band class. But the song we sang was "Cast thy burdens upon the Lord, and he will sustain thee." It's a beautiful song and I did manage to learn the base for it. That's a minor miracle by itself. The other miracle though, is that it really works. We really can drop our burdens at his feet. We can drop as much of it as we're willing to let him have. And he will take it.
That's a miracle.It takes faith. It takes belief, hope and action. It takes faith to let go of our
burdens - often we want to keep that pain because it's our own. It's who we are, and as much as we say we want to lose it, we may just be uncomfortable without it. We have to allow the Savior to be our Savior.
"Behold, I stand at the door and knock"
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