What Faith Cannot Do, And How It Can Bless Our Lives

First of all...
What is Faith?

Elder Uchtdorf said: 

"Faith is a strong conviction about something we believe--a conviction so strong that it moves us to do things that we otherwise might not do.

'Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see'... there are more ways to see than with our eyes, more ways to feel than with our hands, more ways to hear than with our ears.

Perhaps you don't consider yourself a '[person] of faith' because you sometimes struggle with doubt or fear... I wish to speak to anyone who has every felt this way--and that probably includes all of us at one time or another.

I wish to speak of faith--what it is, what it can and cannot do, and what we must do to activate the power of faith in our lives." 1

Here is a short story of a faithful latter-day saint woman in a ward in Santa Cruz Bolivia which was written in my mission journal:

9 June 2014

"In relief society, our teacher told us a few weeks ago that she was pregnant. They had prayed and prayed for a baby and finally it happened. A few weeks later, she had told us that they had lost the baby. She explained how she was sitting in the hospital... with an IV in her arm... and she felt sad and alone. But in this moment, she looked at her husband and said... 'let's pray, and give thanks to God.' She explained how God had given them their baby according to his will. But that His will was to take her baby back to heaven also, and that in this time they should give him thanks for that blessing. 

Knowing and trusting in God's plan, and thanking Him during the hard times is true faith. I know that God has a plan for us. That His ways are greater than ours. I love this gospel, I know it is true."

Although this faithful woman chose to trust in God, she very well could've thought something more like:

If faith doesn't do anything when it really counts, then what is it good for? 

Elder Holland said it wonderfully:

"Life is not always perfect. When some of your hopes are broken, when prayers aren't answered... that's when faith matters. Faith really matters when it's not convenient."

But what about the promises in the scriptures? 
Elder Uchtdorf said:

"The scriptures teach us that through faith the worlds were framed, waters were parted, dead were raised, and rivers and mountains were moved from their course. Yet some might ask, 'If faith is so powerful, why can't I receive an answer to a heartfelt prayer? I don't need a sea to part or a mountain to move. I just need my illness to go away or my parents to forgive each other... Why can't my faith accomplish that?' Faith is powerful, and often it does result in miracles. But no matter how much faith we have, there are two things faith cannot do."

Faith cannot 

1. Violate another person's agency
2. Force our will upon God. No matter how right we think we are or how sincerely we pray.

"The purpose of faith is not to change God's will but to empower us to act on God's will. Faith is trust--trust that God sees what we cannot and that He knows what we do not. Faith means that we trust not only in God's wisdom but that we trust also in His love. It means trusting that God loves us perfectly, that everything He does--every blessing He gives and every blessing He, for a time, withholds--is for our eternal happiness." 1

Why do bad things happen to good people? 
Have you ever heard of dengue fever?

Dengue fever is a viral illness spread by the bites of mosquitoes often found in foreign areas. The sickness can vary in severity depending on the type of virus and the health of the individual; in my case, I had a very high fever, pounding headache, and joint pains. 

In fact, my fever was so bad that they were worried I would have seizures. I was hospitalized for two nights on my mission in Santa Cruz, Bolivia.

Here I was trying to serve the Lord, and I was dangerously ill sitting in a hospital bed with my family far from reach.

Why did God allow for this to happen?

While I may never know, I do know that God's plan for us will always lead to our eternal happiness.

A powerful example in the scriptures is that of Shadrach, Meschach, and Abed-nego: 

King Nebuchadnezzar had created a golden image that he had  commanded all men to worship, or they would be thrown into a fiery furnace to die.

These three missionaries refused to worship the king's golden image (as it was contrary to God's commandments), and were then ordered to be cast into the furnace.

These were their words:

"If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and he will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." 2

These three men had faith even knowing that the Lord might not deliver them. They trusted Him to do what was best for everyone while keeping an eternal perspective. 

Some words of comfort
Elder Uchtdorf said:

"My beloved [brothers and] sisters in Christ, God is real. He lives. He loves you. He knows you. He understands you. He knows the silent pleadings of your heart. He has not abandoned you. He will not forsake you. It is my testimony and apostolic blessing to each one of you that you will feel in your heart and mind this sublime truth for yourselves. Live in faith, dear friends, dear [brothers and] sisters, and 'the Lord [our] God [will] increase you a thousand times and bless you as he has promised!'" 1

How do I overcome my trials? 
Faith in Jesus Christ

"[Jesus Christ] knows the depth of sorrow that stems from death; he knows the widow's anguish. He understands the agonizing parental pain when children go astray; he has felt the striking pain of cancer and every other debilitating ailment heaped upon man. Impossible as it may seem, he has somehow taken upon himself those feelings of inadequacy, sometimes even utter hopelessness that accompany our rejections and weaknesses. There is no mortal condition, however gruesome or ugly or hopeless it may seem, that has escaped his grasp or his suffering. No one will be able to say, 'But you don't understand my particular plight.' The scriptures are emphatic on this point--'he comprehended all things' because 'he descended below all things.' President Ezra Taft Benson taught, 'There is no human deficiency, or sin--which He cannot comprehend or for which His love will not reach out to the individual.' This is a staggering thought when we contemplate the Mount Everest of pain required to make it so. What weight is thrown on the scales of pain when calculating the hurt of innumerable patients in countless hospitals? Now, add to that the loneliness of the elderly who are forgotten in rest homes of society, desperately yearning for a card, a visit, a call--just some recognition from the outside world. Keep on adding the hurt of hungry children, the suffering caused by famine, drought, and pestilence. Pile on the heartache of parents who tearfully plead on a daily basis for a wayward son or daughter to come back home. Factor in the trauma of every divorce and the tragedy of every abortion. Add the remorse that comes with each child lost in the dawn of life, each spouse taken in the prime of marriage. Compound that with the misery of the mentally disadvantaged. Multiply all this by century after century of history, and creation after creation without end. Such is but an awful glimpse of the Savior's load. Who can bear such a burden or scale such a mountain as this? No one, absolutely no one, save Jesus Christ, the Redeemer of us all." 3

Remember

"Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come." 4

Have faith enough to be patient
So the Lord can bless you at the right time 
♡

1. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/study/general-conference/2016/10/fourth-floor-last-door?lang=eng&country=ru2. Daniel 3:17-18 3. The Infinite Atonement by Tad R. Callister4. https://www.churchofjesuschrist.org/pages/good-things-to-come?lang=eng&_r=1