Quoting from a previous post, Brad Wilcox wrote: “Despite the incredible help and encouragement Tyler received from others, there is only so much people can do. The ultimate help has to come from above. “Grant us, Father, grace divine” (Hymns no, 170). Christ did not perform the Atonement to free us from suffering but to be able to accompany us in our suffering. What’s more he did not perform the Atonement just to be able to understand us but to assist us. He overcame in order to help us overcome. Tyler didn’t need Christ to save him from his sins as much as he needed Him to strengthen him in his sorrows. (continuing)
I saw a bumper sticker that promised, “Whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger.” I guess it is the latest in a long line of paraphrases of the original words of a German philosopher Friedrich Nietzsche, but I have to disagree with the statement however it is phrased. It’s not true. Simply going through trials does not make one stronger. Only Christ can make us stronger. Elder Richard G. Scott said, “Because your Father in Heaven loves you profoundly, the Atonement of Jesus Christ makes that strength possible.”9 It is His grace that empowers us to find peace when others stop seeking it. The Lord promises, “Fear thou not; for I am with thee: be not dismayed; for I am thy God: I will strengthen thee; yea, I will help thee” (Isaiah 41:10). Grace is God’s hand reaching down to us. Tyler didn’t have to earn it, deserve it, or meet certain conditions to merit it. He just had to make his self-willed choice to grasp it. Tyler said, “That became harder as the months wore on. There were so many miracles associated with finding the tumor and getting through the surgery that I was on a spiritual high. Then it just turned into months and months of being sick and feeling discouraged. It’s hard to feel spiritual when you are sick all the time. The physical pain is so intense that spiritually you start to feel numb.” Tyler explained that he felt like a missionary making a transition home. Slowly, the spiritual highs of a mission give way to the realities of day-to-day life. “It was hard, but I knew I had to get outside myself and draw closer to God, so I volunteered and was called and set apart as an ordinance worker at the Provo, Utah Temple. That helped me spiritually and made me happier.”
Happy? I have seen people who, unlike Tyler, have survive catastrophes only to become hard-hearted and bitter. Many former prisoners of war became alcoholics and drug abusers when finally released.They escape one prison only to put themselves in another. I know former athletes who curse God because of accidents that have left them unable to perform, but Tyler was making a different choice. He was choosing grace and the happiness that comes with it. ~ Brad Wilcox (‘Changed Through His Grace’ Deseret Book, Salt Lake City) 221-227
