“Eternity Was Our Covering”

As Abraham traveled from Haran to Canaan, he and his family camped in tents. He later described the experience in these words: “Eternity was our covering and our rock and our salvation, as we journeyed” (Abraham 2:16).

Elder Dale G. Renlund quoted this passage as he taught students how to deal with anxiety about an uncertain future. He said that maintaining an eternal perspective can help us avoid being paralyzed by fear, just as Abraham kept moving toward an unfamiliar destination with the feeling that the sky itself was his shelter. Elder Renlund said that the impact of uncertainty is dampened when we place our concerns in a broader context. (See “Spiritual Earthquakes and Base Isolators,” Brigham Young University Idaho Devotional, 28 April 2020.)

I imagine Abraham standing under the night sky, thinking about his place in the world. God would later teach him about the relationships between the stars (Abraham 3). He would also use the stars as a metaphor for Abraham’s posterity (Genesis 15:5). But before all of that, the open sky must have made Abraham feel that he was part of something bigger than himself.

When an angel asked Nephi if he understood the condescension of God, Nephi didn’t know the answer. But he took confidence from what he did understand: “I know that he loveth his children; nevertheless, I do not know the meaning of all things” (1 Nephi 11:17).

Today, I will deal with uncertainty as Abraham did, with eternity as my covering. I will rely on the things I know about God, including His love for all of His children, and I will make decisions and move forward in spite of having many unanswered questions, knowing that I can rely on God to lead me in spite of my limited understanding.