How many of our limitations are self-imposed? How many could we overcome with God’s help?
Isaiah described the future deliverance of his people by calling them to action:
Awake, awake;
put on thy strength, O Zion;
put on thy beautiful garments, O Jerusalem, the holy city….
Shake thyself from the dust;
Isaiah 52:1-2
arise, and sit down, O Jerusalem:
loose thyself from the bands of thy neck, O captive daughter of Zion.
When the Book of Mormon prophet Jacob quoted these verses (2 Nephi 8:24-25), he may have been thinking of his father’s admonition, “Awake! and arise from the dust” (2 Nephi 1:14), or of his father’s assurance, “because that [we] are redeemed from the fall [we] have become free forever, knowing good from evil; to act for [our]selves and not to be acted upon” (2 Nephi 2:26).
When Jesus quoted this passage (3 Nephi 20:36-37), He was speaking to people who had recently experienced catastrophic storms and earthquakes in which they had lost loved ones. They knew what it was like to be powerless, but He was now encouraging them to exercise their agency and to free themselves from the chains which held them down.
Do we make repentance harder than it needs to be by thinking of it as the beginning of the process instead of the end? The ancient Israelites couldn’t free themselves from captivity. The Lord had to do that. But when he did, it was time for them to arise from the dust, shake off their chains, and embrace their newfound freedom. It’s the same for us. We have already been redeemed. The price for our sins has already been paid in full. All we have to do is set aside our chains, let them go, and walk away. The Savior has made it possible for us to do so.
Today, I will view repentance in terms of Isaiah’s imagery. I will imagine myself freed from bondage by the Savior and letting my sins go as the final step in the process. I will be grateful that because I am redeemed, I am free to make that choice.
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