Episode 452: When God Doesn't Give You What You Want

What does it really mean to "take hold" of the Lord's strength? What if the experiences you desperately want to escape are actually designed for your individual growth? Are you putting yourself in places where you can hear the Lord—or unintentionally removing yourself from His influence? And when you attend church, go to the temple, study the scriptures, or listen to General Conference, whose responsibility is it to make the experience meaningful?

In this episode of Streaking the Scriptures, Jeff studies Isaiah 27 and 30 and discovers a powerful theme running through both chapters: the Lord knows, gathers, teaches, and strengthens His children one by one.

Isaiah describes the Lord carefully tending His vineyard—watering it, protecting it, and helping it blossom and bear fruit. That imagery leads to an important question: How do we actually access the strength and protection the Lord promises?

Jeff explores the simple practices that put us in a position to hear Him: studying and applying the scriptures, praying, attending church, partaking of the sacrament, worshipping in the temple, and listening with an open heart. These practices aren't simply obligations to fulfill. They place us where revelation can happen.

A recent business conversation brings that principle into sharp focus. When Jeff asked someone what would make an upcoming training valuable, the person responded that the responsibility wasn't really Jeff's—it was his own. He had to arrive ready to listen, learn, and apply. Jeff realized the same principle applies to worship: What if receiving something from sacrament meeting is less about the speaker and more about how prepared we are to hear what the Lord wants to teach us?

Isaiah's promise that Israel will be gathered "one by one" also leads Jeff to share a deeply personal experience from his own life—one in which disappointment, anger, and an unanswered "Why?" eventually taught him that the Lord was far more interested in his individual eternal progression than in simply giving him the opportunity he wanted.

Finally, Isaiah 30 offers a warning about trusting in worldly power rather than the Lord. Across both chapters emerges a simple invitation: take hold of His strength. Put yourself where you can hear His voice. Trust that He knows you individually. And approach scripture, worship, and the coming General Conference with an open heart, ready to hear what He has to say to you.