His Hand is Stretched Out Still

"For all this, His anger is not turned away, but His hand is stretched out still." The lesson this week in Gospel Doctrine is about the prophet Isaiah and his teachings to the people so long ago, and what he saw of the people today (us.)

I love the imagery in the scriptures (there are many) that describe how the Lord sees us and is always there for us if we will but turn to Him. The scriptures in Isaiah 5 and 6 describe the sins of the people, how they are so focused on worldliness and are so concerned with costly apparel and idols of their own making.

"Therefore is the anger of the Lord kindled against his people...for all this his anger is not turned away, but his hand is stretched out still."

No matter what we do or don't do, no matter what time we waste on things of little or no importance, no matter how much we ignore the teachings of the prophets and insist on going about our own very important (in our own minds) business, the Lord is always there. At some point, hopefully sooner than later, we will wake up and realize that his way is the better way, and we'll decide to spend our time and energies on things of bigger import (i.e. building the kingdom of Zion, which boils down to serving our brothers and sisters and lifting the burdens of others).

Whenever that time is, the Lord will be right there. Not miles away, but right there.

I still imagine the visual given in a lesson one Sunday, years ago. The teacher held up both hands, palms facing each other. The hands represented each of us as individuals (left hand) and the Lord (right hand), conversing and walking together. The left hand (we) then decide to turn away and follow our own path, leaving the Lord behind (left palm turns away, left arm and hand go far left, leaving right hand in the center).

We decide, after a time, that we need the Lord after all, but wonder how far, exactly, we have strayed, and how can we possibly get back to where we were. (Left palm turns back slightly, towards the right hand.)

With that small motion from the left hand (us), the right hand (the Lord) immediately moves right next to the left hand again. Heavenly Father is right there. He is there, arms outstretched, at all times, ready to support us.

All we have to do is be willing to try.