Ep 9 Divine Worth Podcast: Trusting the Lord’s Vision: Why You Are Capable of More Than You Think

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Welcome to the divine worth podcast, where we are letting go of our self doubt anxiety, fear, and limiting beliefs so that we can step into the divine roles that God has for us. I am your host life coach, Karen Papin, and together we are embracing our divine worth.

   In preparing for this episode, I had planned to go in a different direction. I just really struggled to develop an outline for what I wanted to talk about today. And so finally yesterday, as I was pondering what to share and just saying a prayer while I was going about doing dishes and other things around the house, I just asked Heavenly Father, Let me know what I need to say.

And he guided me in focusing on two beautiful gifts that we have been given, which are so important to embracing our divine worth and potential.

The first of these gifts is the atonement of Christ. This sweet gift gives us strength and power beyond our own. In Alma chapter 7, verses 11 through 13, we read these heartfelt words about the Savior and His atonement, And He shall go forth suffering pains and afflictions and temptations of every kind, and this, that the word Might be fulfilled, which saith he will take upon him the pains and the sicknesses of his people, and he will take upon him death, that he may loose the bands of death, which bind his people, and he will take upon him their infirmities that his bowels may be filled with mercy, according to the flesh, that he may know, according to the flesh.

How to succor his people according to their infirmities. Now the Spirit knoweth all things, nevertheless, the Son of God suffereth according to the flesh that he might take upon him the sins of his people, that he might blot out their transgressions according to the power of his deliverance. And now behold, this is the testimony which is in me.

Christ knows what we go through. He knows. And because he knows, he knows how to comfort us and how to help us to overcome. He also knows what we are capable of. And we also know from Philippians chapter 4 verse 13, we can do all things through Christ which strengtheneth us.

In those moments where we feel like we can’t go on, where we feel like we aren’t the right person for the job, or when we feel depleted, Christ is there and will help us through it. Sometimes, it’s not always in the way that we expect. Shortly after my son was born, I had an experience where the Lord helped me to overcome an experience, though not in the way that I expected and not in the way that I had specifically asked.

As a mom with four young kids, one who was just a few months old, I was exhausted. I was sick and so was my little one. And I remember just sitting on the floor of my son’s room, wondering how I was going to make it through the day. It was still the beginning of the day and I just couldn’t see how I could do it. I prayed that the Lord would send someone to help me while at the same time knowing that I couldn’t really reach out to anyone because we were sick and I did not want to get anyone sick. Somehow, I did make it. I kept going. And at the end of the day, once again, with a prayer in my heart, I realized I had made it and I received a clear impression from the Lord.

I knew you could do it. He knows that we are capable of more than we realize, especially since we have his help, his strength, and his power to guide us and lend us a hand when we need it.

In episode one, I shared an experience from my mission where the Lord helped me to turn a weakness into a strength. I was so anxious on my first tour as a missionary on Temple Square, and that anxiety that I felt was noticed. Others on that tour noticed, but instead of it being a weakness, Those on the tour saw my determination and faith to take action and choose faith over fear.

And one woman in particular received strength from it. God has a much greater view of what we can accomplish. Trust in Him.

Another way that the gift of the atonement helps us with embracing our divine worth and potential is that it opens us up to be able to repent, to essentially change. Now, it is natural for us to resist change. It is hard. And sometimes we think that we don’t even need it. Sometimes we think things like, that’s just the way I am, or I can’t because, or I don’t have the time.

Sometimes there are thought patterns in our brain that we aren’t even consciously aware of that are keeping us from moving forward in doing what the Lord sees that we are capable of.

In this past general conference in October, 2024, Elder Soares said during our sojourn in mortality, we often wrestle with what we think we know, what we think is best, and what we assume works for us, as opposed to comprehending what Heavenly Father actually knows and what is eternally best and what absolutely works for children within His plan.

Sometimes we are aware of the thoughts that are holding us back, and yet we still struggle because it’s not easy to change. It takes effort, but we know from President Nelson that the Lord loves effort. When we turn to the Lord, He helps us to rise above, to overcome, to change, and He has a much more glorious plan for us.

If we are just willing to trust in Him and take those steps forward, even if they’re small steps forward, repentance through the atonement of Christ makes it possible to change. It is a gift. Which brings me to our next gift, the gift of agency. I cannot express to you how glorious and how important this gift of agency is.

Our agency is something that Satan is actively seeking to destroy. Sometimes it’s through addiction, and sometimes it’s through sin, and sometimes it’s through patterns that we’ve created over time within our brain. We have somewhere between 50 to 70, 000 thoughts a day, and only about 5 percent of those are conscious thoughts.

This is something that is needed. Like we need those subconscious thoughts as well, because it’s how we survive. If we had to relearn everything each day, like how to walk, we would never get anything done. So those thoughts in our subconscious are needed. However, there are many thought patterns that actually keep us from using our agency.

We instead just react to the experiences. that we find ourselves in rather than intentionally using our agency to actively overcome them. This is something that can be both difficult to accept and also just so freeing.

I want to take a moment to dive into 2 Nephi chapter 2 verses 24 through 29, where Lehi is speaking to his son Jacob in verse 24. But behold, all things have been done in the wisdom of him who knoweth all things. Right here, Lehi is reminding us that God’s vision and wisdom is greater than our own. This is one reason why trusting in him is so important.

He understands things on such a greater level. Sometimes we struggle to give something up, whether physical or maybe it’s a thought pattern or even a belief that we have yet God has a greater vision and we will find something so much more amazing if we hand over whatever it is that we are holding onto and trust in the Lord.

In verse 25, Adam fell that men might be and men are that they might have joy. I love this verse. I love anything that talks about joy. , but specifically, I do love this verse because it stresses that we are meant to experience joy. Even if we have to give up things that we are struggling to let go of in favor of God’s greater view, our greatest joys come from Him.

Verse 26. And the Messiah cometh in the fullness of time, that he may redeem the children of men from the fall. And because that they are redeemed from the fall, they have become free forever, knowing good from evil, to act for themselves and not to be acted upon, save it be by the punishment of the law at the great and last day, according to the commandments which God hath given.

This gives us two ways we receive joy through the gospel of Christ. One being that He has redeemed us. And two, our agency. We have been given the ability to act for ourselves and not to be acted upon. We have the ability to choose. Sometimes though, it’s easier to just be who we are right here in this moment.

It’s easier to just react to life. It’s easier to lean into our own understanding. It’s easier to stay inside our comfort zone. It’s easier to say, that’s who I am, or it’s easier to say that life is this way because of the circumstances we are in, or it’s easier to say that we can’t because we are too busy.

When we claim our agency truly accepting this gift that we have been given, we choose to rise above our circumstances. To rise above our fears and our self doubt and our false perceptions of what we can and cannot do. When we embrace our agency, we free ourselves from Satan’s grasp

and with hope, realize that we truly can become who God created us to be.

Understanding that that will bring us more joy than anything we would do on our own. Allow yourself to believe that maybe, just maybe, God sees something greater.

Allow yourself to rise above your circumstances, to open your mind to new things, new possibilities to try and trust in the Lord’s timing and the process. I know it’s hard, but it’s so worth it. Allow yourself to believe that maybe letting go of a label you’ve embraced might actually open you up to more joy.

My daughters are definitely my daughters. Because like myself, they have struggled with anxiety. And with the ability to speak. They’ve been told often that they are shy. And at times will say, I’m just too shy. In these moments that they have said this, I lovingly remind them that being shy is not an excuse.

It just means we’ve got more to learn and we’ve got to put more effort into it. And I know that. Because I’ve been there.

So in what ways are you holding back from embracing your divine worth and potential because you’re just too fill in the blank And what is one small way that you can take a step forward, one small way that you can step outside your comfort zone to embrace the joy that God has for you, because there is so much joy from doing just that.

And when we fall, because there will be times that we fall back into old patterns where we may make a mistake or where we struggle with intense circumstances that make it difficult for us to change. Embrace God’s love. He loves you. Mistakes, weaknesses, false patterns, and all. There will be days that you need rest, and that is okay.

After experiencing a miscarriage, it took me several years before I was ready to once again step outside my comfort zone. Sometimes healing takes time, and that is also okay. The Lord loves you, and He understands, and He is patient and kind. Yet, trust in Him to help you to know when you are ready for more.

When shame begins to settle in, remind yourself that God is not the one telling you that you aren’t enough or that you can’t or aren’t capable or that you’ll never be able to do it. No, His thoughts are thoughts of peace towards you. Like it says in Jeremiah chapter 29 verse 11. Or He says that you are fearfully and wonderfully made, or that the worth of your soul is great in His sight.

And remind yourself that Christ went through all He did for you, and with His help, you can overcome all things. And do all things that he asks of you

in these moments of self doubt and discouragement. Follow Nephi’s example in first Nephi chapter three, verse seven, where he says, and it came to pass that I Nephi said unto my father, I will go and do the things which the Lord hath commanded for.

I know that the Lord. Giveth no commandments unto the children of men. save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing. Wish he commanded them.

And the Lord did provide a way for Nephi. Interestingly enough, it wasn’t the first or second try, but in the Lord’s timing, he did provide a way for Nephi to accomplish what he was commanded to do.

You are human. Failure is a part of the process. It is essential to learning. It’s proof that you are trying. That you are taking steps to learn and to grow. Of course, you will experience failures. Of course, you’ll make mistakes or say the wrong thing or blame your circumstances or do things that you know that it wasn’t the right thing to do at that point in time.

Of course, there will be times that you just do not. Act in the way that you would have liked to. It’s a part of our life experience. However, I love this quote from Elder Karl D Hirst in, once again, October 24’s General Conference. He says, Surely Jesus removes all shame from the broken. Through his brokenness, he became perfect, and he can make us perfect in spite of our brokenness. You are still loved, even with all your brokenness. You are still loved. And personally, that makes you so much more endearing to me, because that makes you more relatable. Through that brokenness, you’ll understand others more. And because of that brokenness. You are showing that you are learning and that you are growing and that you are humble enough to keep trying.

So even in these moments of self doubt and of guilt and possibly even shame,

what if instead we love ourselves as we would love someone else who is struggling if instead we allowed Christ to remind us that while He knows all of our mistakes and imperfections, all of our brokenness, He still sees us as being worth it. What if instead we claim that beautiful gift of agency and choose to keep on trying, to keep on going, to keep turning to the Lord even when it’s hard to accept His will?

Because no, you aren’t perfect yet, but it is through acknowledging our mistakes and imperfections, our brokenness, embracing Christ’s love and His atonement and continuing to try that we become perfected in Christ. So don’t give up hope. Keep going. Claim your agency. And embrace the gifts of the Atonement and Agency.

You will make it.

Karen: If you have found this podcast to be a light, please share it with others and leave a review, which helps others to be able to find the podcast as well. To learn more about your divine worth and potential, you can check out my divine worth scripture study journal with over 52 scriptures relating to your divine worth and potential.

You can find that on Amazon by searching divine worth journal by Karen Papin. Or through the link here: Amazon

You are of worth. You have a purpose. The Lord loves you and he believes in you and only you can make the impact on this world that you are meant to make. Join me next time as we talk more about divine worth and potential.