(Art: I Know You By Name by Laura Wilson)
Have you ever felt
insignificant? Or on the outside? Or like an appendage to someone? Well, there
is one person who in the Book of Mormon might appear to have felt like that.
His name was Zoram, Laban’s servant who assisted Nephi in obtaining the brass
plates. We don’t know much about this man but I am always amazed that he
could be persuaded on the spur of the moment to abandon his life in Jerusalem
and step on a ship to cross oceans to a whole new continent. Had he known Lehi
and his family previously? Was he afraid Laban’s murder would be pinned on him
so he seized the opportunity to escape judgment? Did he appreciate the twist of
fate that took him out of Jerusalem and the life of servitude? Did he leave
family behind? Did anyone wonder where he went and what became of him? One might think that Zoram became an appendage
out of necessity and therefore was not all that significant to Lehi’s
adventurous journey. He was after all just a servant. One thing we do know
though: he was not insignificant to God.
This is the point in
Zoram’s story that proves this truth. When Ishmael and his family joined
the party, he provided wives for Nephi and his brothers but the interesting
thing is that Ishmael had enough daughters for Lehi’s sons, plus one. The plus
one was the oldest daughter who married Zoram (1 Nephi 16:7). It is obvious the Lord knew way ahead that
Zoram would join the party and that He did not expect him to travel to another
continent with no provision for his future. In other words, the Lord knew
Zoram, he loved Zoram, and He was invested in Zoram's well-being. When he
sent daughters to be born into Ishmael's family, he assigned one of them for
Zoram. Before Lehi died he gave a blessing to all his posterity,
including Zoram (2 Nephi 1:30-32) because he was ‘a true friend to Nephi
forever’. Zoram’s posterity became one of the seven tribes of ancient America,
called Zoramites.
You
might feel that you are like Zoram, not that important. You might feel like you are on the
outside, that you are surplus, overlooked or not needed. You, however, are none
of these things to God. You are Christ's work and His glory. Not a
hair of your head falls to the ground that He does not notice. No matter how
insignificant you might feel, you are not,
because
God has a plan for each
of us in the great tapestry of life. Each one of us is destined for greatness in
the eternal scheme of things. Christ will ensure this is so and He will lift us
to eternal realms of godhood to live with Him forever.
Do you see me Father, despite heaven’s
vast expanse?
Do you hear the burning beat of my heart
Amidst the numberless host of heaven?
Do you cherish me
More than the stars that encircle thy
throne?
Thy greatness is endless;
Thy power sublime.
In my appointed hour
Carry me home
In the strength of Thy loving arms.
