A seemingly cryptic story appears in the Old Testament where the king of Israel visits the prophet Elisha to enlist God’s assistance in the impending invasion by the Syrians:
14 Now Elisha was fallen sick of his sickness whereof he died. And Joash the king of Israel came down unto him, and wept over his face, and said, O my father, my father, the chariot of Israel, and the horsemen thereof.
15 And Elisha said unto him, Take bow and arrows. And he took unto him bow and arrows.
16 And he said to the king of Israel, Put thine hand upon the bow. And he put his hand upon it: and Elisha put his hands upon the king’s hands.
17 And he said, Open the window eastward. And he opened it. Then Elisha said, Shoot. And he shot. And he said, The arrow of the Lord’s deliverance, and the arrow of deliverance from Syria: for thou shalt smite the Syrians in Aphek, till thou have consumed them.
18 And he said, Take the arrows. And he took them. And he said unto the king of Israel, Smite upon the ground. And he smote thrice, and stayed.
19 And the man of God was wroth with him, and said, Thou shouldest have smitten five or six times; then hadst thou smitten Syria till thou hadst consumed it: whereas now thou shalt smite Syria but thrice. (2 Kings 13)
The miracle by Elisha was intended to teach the importance of intensely seeking what God is willing to give. Elisha’s disappointment at the low intensity of Joash is indicative of God’s response when we seek him with faltering intensity.
The behavior of the blind man healed by Jesus is an example of the intensity that enables us to receive the fullness of what God offers:
46 And they came to Jericho: and as he went out of Jericho with his disciples and a great number of people, blind Bartimaeus, the son of Timaeus, sat by the highway side begging.
47 And when he heard that it was Jesus of Nazareth, he began to cry out, and say, Jesus, thou son of David, have mercy on me.
48 And many charged him that he should hold his peace: but he cried the more a great deal, Thou son of David, have mercy on me.
49 And Jesus stood still, and commanded him to be called. And they call the blind man, saying unto him, Be of good comfort, rise; he calleth thee. (Mark 10)
This man responded to obstacles by increasing his intensity until he received what Jesus was willing to give him.
Jesus told two parables to demonstrate the importance of tenacity in receiving him:
2 Saying, There was in a city a judge, which feared not God, neither regarded man:
3 And there was a widow in that city; and she came unto him, saying, Avenge me of mine adversary.
4 And he would not for a while: but afterward he said within himself, Though I fear not God, nor regard man;
5 Yet because this widow troubleth me, I will avenge her, lest by her continual coming she weary me.
6 And the Lord said, Hear what the unjust judge saith. (Luke 18)
5 And he said unto them, Which of you shall have a friend, and shall go unto him at midnight, and say unto him, Friend, lend me three loaves;
6 For a friend of mine in his journey is come to me, and I have nothing to set before him?
7 And he from within shall answer and say, Trouble me not: the door is now shut, and my children are with me in bed; I cannot rise and give thee.
8 I say unto you, Though he will not rise and give him, because he is his friend, yet because of his importunity he will rise and give him as many as he needeth.
9 And I say unto you, Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you.
10 For every one that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened. (Luke 11)
Receiving what God offers requires everything we have to give:
4 ...how oft have I gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, and have nourished you.
5 ...how oft would I have gathered you as a hen gathereth her chickens, and ye would not.
6 ...how oft will I gather you as a hen gathereth her chickens under her wings, if ye will repent and return unto me with full purpose <u>of heart. (3 Nephi 10)</u>
Full purpose of heart means that we desire him more than all other things in this world; it means all our heart, all our mind, all our strength.
Imagine, for a moment, that you knew it was going to rain. What would you do? If you didn’t particularly care about water, you would do nothing. If you really appreciated it, you would put out a container to catch it. What size of a container would you grab? Some would grab a measuring cup, some a bowl, and some a garbage can, depending on how much they valued water.
Most people are indifferent to God’s blessings. Some care as long as what he wants to give overlaps with what they desire. Some few are wise enough to realize that anything God offers is worth obtaining, whether it fits into what they currently understand to be valuable or not. These last people are capable of receiving everything God has because they do not choose containers too small to fit what he offers.
You can only have what you are willing to pay for. Too many people stop far short of the happiness and joy they could have were they willing to work as hard as required, endure the pain required, sacrifice what is required, and so on.
Low intensity is insufficient to receive what God would like you to have. It is foolish to expect great outcomes without great effort. It’s only after you have done all that lies in your power that you can assume the Lord will intervene to do great things.
You truly have to “hunger and thirst after righteousness.” (Matthew 5:6) God requires “all [your] heart...all [your] might, mind, and strength....” (D&C 59:5) Your heart refers to your desire. Your might refers to your capacity. Your mind refers to your thoughts. Your strength refers to your effort. All of these things determine how much and what you obtain from God. If you want to receive all he has, it requires all your desire, all your capacity, all your thoughts, and all your effort. Anything less than this means you are leaving behind good things he wills to give you because you are not willing to receive them.