Every year, tens of thousands of people end up stranded during off-roading adventures, with emergency rescue reports showing increasing risks in recent years.¹ Now . . . I’m no expert, but logically I can say I would never go off-roading without three things:

1. enough fuel to make the full round trip,
2. a vehicle with the power to climb, and
3. a map or GPS so I know where I’m headed and how to get back.

It seems obvious. A little preparation can be the difference between an enjoyable adventure and a dangerous situation.

But this is more than an off-roading tip—it’s a spiritual pattern.

God doesn’t send us “into the wilderness” without also giving us what we need. Just as a vehicle needs fuel, power, and direction to climb a mountain, He provides the spiritual equivalents and even a few additional assists along the way.

If You Keep the Commandments He Will Help You Keep the Commandments

After many years in the wilderness, Nephi reflected on how the Lord had sustained his family:

“If it so be that the children of men keep the commandments of God he doth nourish them, and strengthen them, and provide means whereby they can accomplish the thing which he has commanded them.”
—1 Nephi 17:3

To me, this almost feels like a circular reference² : If we keep the commandments, God helps us keep the commandments.

And yet the message is profound: God is not distant. When He commands, He simultaneously equips. He offers three specific assurances:

• He will nourish us (fuel)
• He will strengthen us (power)
• He will provide a way (a map)

Let’s look at each.

He Nourishes

How does God nourish us?

We are “nourished by the good word of God” (Moroni 6:4).

If we “feast upon the words of Christ,” those words “will tell [us] all things what [we] should do” (2 Nephi 32:3).

If we “hunger and thirst after righteousness,” we “shall be filled with the Holy Ghost” (3 Nephi 12:6).

In other words, He offers abundant spiritual fuel—scripture, revelation, the Holy Ghost. Partaking is our choice, but the nourishment is always available.

He Strengthens

Nephi understood the Lord’s ability to strengthen His children. When he was bound by his brothers, he didn’t pray for changed circumstances or for those who mistreated him to suffer. Instead, he prayed: “Give me strength that I may burst these bands.” (1 Nephi 7:17)

Nephi was blessed with strength and persistence beyond his natural ability, allowing him to break free “in the strength of the Lord” (Mosiah 9:17).³

The lesson is clear: God gives us strength to move obstacles rather than removing them for us.

He Provides a Way

This help echoes Nephi’s declaration when commanded to retrieve the brass plates:

““The Lord giveth no commandments . . . save he shall prepare a way for them that they may accomplish the thing which he commandeth them.” (1 Nephi 3:7)

God does not give commandments without also giving a path, a method, an opening—a way forward to accomplish whatever is required.

Whether that “way” is clarity, resources, people, timing, or revelation, He provides it.

Additional Help Along the Way

As if these three promises weren’t enough, God provides additional help for our foray into the wild.

First, The Lord loves effort!⁴ President Nelson has taught this repeatedly, and the scriptures echo it:

Spiritual gifts “are given for the benefit of those who love me and keep all my commandments, and him that seeketh so to do” (Doctrine and Covenants 46:9).

My point isn’t about spiritual gifts—though those are real helps on the journey—but about the subtle doctrine inside that verse:

God blesses us even when we are merely seeking to be obedient.

That is a profoundly hopeful truth. It teaches me how much God actually loves us: He wants us to keep His commandments not for His sake, but for ours. He wants to bring about our eternal life.⁵ And when we exert even a little effort—even a desire⁶—He rushes to help.

Second, the most powerful help on our spiritual journey is the Companion Himself.

“We must remember: it’s not the course alone that will exalt us; it’s the companion—our Savior. And this is the why of covenant relationship.”⁷

The covenant relationship is powerful. I am reminded of this beautiful teaching from Russell M. Nelson:

“Once we make a covenant with God, we leave neutral ground forever . . . All those who have made a covenant with God have access to a special kind of love and mercy . . . Because of our covenant with God, He will never tire in His efforts to help us, and we will never exhaust His merciful patience with us. Each of us has a special place in God’s heart. He has high hopes for us.”⁸

Through covenant relationship, we are never alone on the trail.

He walks it with us. He teaches as we go. He rescues when needed. He strengthens when we are tired. He loves us through the climb.

He Will Not Leave You Stranded

So next time you find yourself “headed up a mountain” or “into the wilderness”—facing something difficult, commanded, or unknown—remember:

• He will nourish you with spiritual fuel.
• He will strengthen you with divine power.
• He will provide a way where none seemed possible.
• He will bless your effort—no matter how small.
• And He will travel with you through every step of the journey.

God will not leave you stranded. He gives you what the climb requires—and He stays with you all the way home.

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Lead image generated by Gemini AI (but that is my car…haha)

1. see “Off-Road Rescues in Colorado Are Getting Out of Hand” at Outside.
2. A circular reference is a series of references where the last object references the first, resulting in a closed loop. See Circular reference at Wikipedia.
3. see David A. Bednar, “In the Strength of the Lord”, BYU Devotional, October 2001.
4. see Russell M. Nelson, Facebook Post, January 1, 2022.
5. see Moses 1:39
6. see Alma 32:27
7. Emily Belle Freeman, “Walking in Covenant Relationship with Christ“, General Conference, October 2023.
8. Russell M. Nelson, “The Everlasting Covenant“, Liahona, October 2022.