We will be perplexed and confused as to why we have to experience what we experience. ⁣

We will be persecuted, sometimes by those who should love us most. ⁣

We will be cast down in society or our communities. ⁣

Life will be hard.

It is hard. ⁣

For some reason, I think we constantly need to remind ourselves of this.

It’s so easy to jump to:

“It’s not fair”

“What did I do to deserve this?”⁣

But we are guaranteed that these hard times will come to us. ⁣

It’s okay to feel troubled, perplexed, persecuted, and cast down. ⁣

But, thanks to our loving Savior:⁣

We do not need to feel distressed. ⁣

We need not despair. ⁣

We are not forsaken or forgotten. ⁣

We will not be destroyed. ⁣

Life is hard.

Really hard sometimes.

But we have our Good Shepherd with us. ⁣

He will not let the hard times destroy us if we turn to him.

We don’t have to be stressed out and in utter chaos.

We are not forgotten, ever! ⁣

Life is hard, but it doesn’t need to be miserable. ⁣

“We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair; Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed.” (2 Corinthians 4:8-9)

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Troubled but not destroyed first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

One of the sisters asked me, “What really brings you joy?” ⁣

It took me off-guard more than I expected. ⁣

I couldn’t quite narrow it down to just one answer.

Plus, I wasn’t feeling much joy at the moment.

Paul taught:

“Great is my boldness of speech toward you, great is my glorying of you: I am filled with comfort, I am exceeding joyful in all our tribulation.” (2 Corinthians 7:4)

But I wasn’t finding a lot of joy in my tribulation.

I stumbled out an answer to our missionaries and then one of them shared something that totally changed my perspective.

She basically said:

“I find joy in being creative!

“Yes, I love to paint and draw.

“But I also love creating happiness!

“God is so creative, and I find joy when I create with Him!”

We ended up having a beautiful conversation about the connection between joy and creation.

Something totally clicked in my mind.

I have joy when I create a life for myself where I can feel the Spirit and become more Christlike. ⁣

I have joy in my life when I create a marriage and home where we keep the commandments, show love, and have fun!

I have joy when I create breathtaking music that transcends any emotions words can capture. ⁣

I have joy when I create beautiful, strong friendships. ⁣

And ultimately, I have joy when I am going through difficult trials, and yet I still create moments of happiness and peace with my Savior. ⁣

“We can feel joy regardless of what is happening- or not happening- in our lives. Joy comes from and because of Him.” -Russell M. Nelson

When we create, I believe we find joy because we partner with Heavenly Father to bring goodness into existence.

So, what brings you joy?

What are you able to create?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Creating with God first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

Is this a temporal problem or an eternal problem?

I take a moment to zoom out real big.

Like “beyond the end of this life” big.

The temporal problems always seem to shrink when I do this.

The work issue isn’t such a big deal, the messy house doesn’t matter, the frustrating process seems silly.

But I’ve also noticed the eternal issues grow larger when I take a step back.

Family prayer isn’t happening? That’s actually something that is important to me, so I want to problem solve and make it happen in a meaningful way.

My kids won’t stop fighting? I know I want to teach my kids kindness, and so I seek for revelation on what they need to feel more love.

“While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.” (2 Corinthians 4:18)

Temporal vs. Eternal ⁣⁣

It’s so much easier to “look at the things which are seen”.

Obviously!

We see the physical problems around us.

We see what we lack, what we need to solve, and sometimes these physical problems become our sole focus. ⁣

It takes more effort to look at the “things which are not seen”.

But in reality, these are the things that matter most.

These are the only things that will actually go with us to the next life. ⁣

Our family relationships.

Our testimonies.

Our service.

Our love.

Our habits.

Our desires.

Our knowledge.

Our spiritual gifts. ⁣

These are eternal. ⁣

Physical problems still exist and still require our attention.

But when I take a moment to step back, my order of priorities always shift.

The things that aren’t seen matter the most.

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Seen and unseen problems first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.

It’s not that I didn’t care.

It just didn’t seem like a big deal to me.

… And then I got pregnant with my first child.

And I got SUPER sick.

After surviving (literally) that pregnancy, anytime someone shared how sick they were while pregnant, I would empathize with every little detail!

And now I’ve endured two more of those difficult pregnancies.

When people I know are pregnant, I let them vent endlessly.

I try to check in on them often.

In fact, it’s like this super sense of empathy that I’ve now developed for my fellow sisters who have to deal with any illness during pregnancy.

What hard things have you gone through?

Have you noticed how you begin to empathize with and love other people who are going through similar trials?

There seems to be a special connection that forms. ⁣

And it all stems from God. ⁣

“Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;

“Who comforteth us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort them which are in any trouble, by the comfort wherewith we ourselves are comforted of God.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-4)

God knows how to comfort us when we need it.

So when we have to go through our own trials, we gain the ability to comfort others with that specific need.

It’s almost like a unique spiritual gift that we develop!

We can be the hands of God and comfort in the ways He would.

Considering the trials you’ve had to navigate in your life so far, what are your “comforting” superpowers that you can reach out with to the people around you?

Happy Studying!

-Cali Black

The post Comfort the way we are comforted first appeared on Come Follow Me Study with Cali Black.