 |
Expect Miracles
Five Righteous
Routines for Exercising Faith
Elder
Hamula inspired us all to exercise greater faith—the faith to succeed. “When you give your best, you can
expect miracles,” he promised. As you exercise faith by internalizing these five
righteous routines, expect miracles!
Ø Every day
and week, set inspired goals that stretch you and focus your efforts. Elder
Hamula taught us that “goal setting and planning are acts of faith. If you’re sincere, they draw more effort out
of you. Goal setting is intended to draw out of you full purpose of heart, full
consecration. The goal is your
consecration, your full exercise of effort.
Not until you give in that way is grace extended to you to succeed.” When you set goals in faith, you own them and
care about them, whether they are personal goals to acquire the character of
Christ or goals relating to key indicators.
They inspire you to do things you otherwise would not have done.
Ø Study the
life and teachings of Christ to become more consecrated. “If you really
want to go to the next level, individually or collectively, you need to
consecrate yourself wholly and completely unto him,” Elder Hamula taught. “A good number of you are still holding on to
what you were. Not until you are willing
to give it all away do you get the most out of this experience.” As you study the four gospels and 3 Nephi 11
– 27 over the next three months, ask yourself how you can become more fully
consecrated. Keep and study journal and
write down ways you can live as he lived.
Ø Account to
God daily and weekly for what kind of witness you have been. Elder
Hamula taught that “contacting earnestly and prayerfully
everywhere you go is the price you pay to be trusted with the kind of people
who will be baptized.” Remember that “as
in teaching, your efforts in finding will be effective if you are guided by the
Spirit. Have faith that you will know
what to teach and what to do to find those who will receive you” (156). Elder Hamula urged us to “stop talking yourself
out of the first impression you get. You
are too worried about whether it’s you or Him.
Go with what you have.” Each
night “as you give the Lord an accounting of your day’s activities” (95),
include an accounting of what kind of witness you have been that day. And each week during the sacrament, ponder
how well you have represented Jesus Christ during the past week and how you can
better represent him the following week.
Ø Focus on
people as you plan with faith, so that planning becomes a revelatory
experience. Elder Hamula said, “You have faith to be here, but you
need to develop the faith to succeed here.
You do that by utilizing the faith-promoting tool of regular planning to
draw out of you everything that there is to draw out. As you utilize that tool and give all that
you are, the miracle comes.” Use those tools to focus on people, not
just time slots. Every night and every week, follow the 12
steps from page 3 of the planner to strategize about how to help each of your
investigators progress and how to move the work in the area forward. Talk about their needs throughout the day and
soon your eye will become more single to God’s glory.
Ø Update area
books daily and use them regularly as a finding tool. “The area book
is a reflection of your planning and your faith,” Elder Hamula said. “When the area book is being kept up and used
regularly, there tends to be greater faith and greater outcomes.” As you make your area book “the lasting
record of your day-to-day efforts”—a record that is “neat, current and
accurate” (140)—it becomes an invaluable time capsule for future missionaries. Use the area book daily as a source of
inspiration as you seek new investigators and help current investigators and
less-active members progress.
