BYU-Idaho Devotional speaker Shawn Andreasen works as the BYU-Idaho pharmacist at the Student Health Center. In his free time, Brother Andreasen loves whale watching with his family at their favorite spot in Oregon. He plans to spend the Thanksgiving break with his family and eat a generous helping of pumpkin pie, his favorite.
For his devotional address, Brother Andreasen chose to focus on anecdotal and scriptural examples of how the Lord preserves his saints in some critical moments but also allows them to suffer in others. Andreasen aims to describe the type of faith it requires to face the “but if not” moments when the Lord does not spare our suffering.
In an interview with BYU-Idaho Radio, Andreasen shared insights about a major personal anecdote of faith trial. Through the experience of seeing his son Brian battle with a brain tumor, he learned about accepting God’s will whether that meant keeping his son in sickness or losing his son to it.
Brian’s tumor was able to be treated and he is now married and attends BYU-Idaho as a pre-med major. Brother Andreasen recognizes the blessings of seeing his son get better and emphasizes the reality of faith as a tool as we face the unseen trails ahead.
In conversation, Andreasen reasoned that we came to Earth knowing the risks of mortality, yet the challenges did not deter us from traversing this world to obtain the blessings of eternity. This educated, pre-mortal decision indicates the good rewards of eternal life far outweigh the sorrows, sicknesses, diseases, sufferings and heartaches we may experience in this life.
“We don’t know what is happening to us or around us, but we know that God loves us, and knowing that for the moment is enough…We have to know that and use the strength from that to get out of bed another day and to move forward, praying for that strength, knowing that God is going to send us help whether it’s through roommates, or family members, or professors, or our church leaders, or whether it’s through an unseen angel…” Andreasen said.