Waiting upon the Lord

Do you remember what it felt like to wait for Christmas morning as a kid? Maybe this is just me, but I remember never being able to fall asleep on Christmas Eve. My sisters and I would usually sleep in the same room, and I remember feeling like I was just lying there all night and could never fall asleep! I'm sure I did sleep, but it sure didn't feel like it! Even as I got older, and even knew some of the things that "Santa" was bringing in the morning, there were times where I still wouldn't be able to sleep the night before. Waiting for things we desperately want might be one of the greatest challenges we face during our mortal lives, and might just be one of the greatest attributes we can develop while here.

The Savior provides for us the perfect example of being patient and waiting on the Lord. That phrase is often repeated in the scriptures. Just a few examples include Psalm 37:9, Isaiah 8:17, and 2 Nephi 18:17. Abraham waited upon the Lord for further clarification after he received the initial command to sacrifice his son Isaac. Moroni waited for provisions for his army after he sent a letter to Pahoran, asking for further help and guidance. The pioneers waited for their rescue party to arrive as they nearly froze to death in the Wyoming plains. Waiting upon the Lord has always been a true characteristic of disciples of the Lord Jesus Christ.

In a New Era article in 2015, Elder Robert D. Hales of the Quorum of the 12 Apostles taught, "The purpose of our life on earth is to grow, develop, and be strengthened through our own experiences. How do we do this? The scriptures give us an answer in one simple phrase: we 'wait upon the Lord'. What does it mean to wait upon the Lord? In the scriptures, the word wait means to hope, to anticipate, and to trust. To hope and trust in the Lord requires faith, patience, humility, meekness, long-suffering, keeping the commandments, and enduring to the end. To wait upon the Lord means planting the seed of faith and nourishing it (see Alma 32:41). It means praying as the Savior did—to God, our Heavenly Father—saying: 'Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done' (Matthew 6:10; Luke 11:2). It is a prayer we offer with our whole souls in the name of our Savior, Jesus Christ. Waiting upon the Lord means pondering in our hearts and 'receiv[ing] the Holy Ghost' so that we can know 'all things what [we] should do' (2 Nephi 32:5). As we follow the promptings of the Spirit, we discover that 'tribulation worketh patience' (Romans 5:3) and we learn to 'continue in patience until [we] are perfected' (D&C 67:13). Waiting upon the Lord means to 'stand fast' (Alma 45:17) and 'press forward' in faith, 'having a perfect brightness of hope' (2 Nephi 31:20). It means 'relying alone upon the merits of Christ' (Moroni 6:4) and 'with [His] grace assisting [us, saying]: Thy will be done, O Lord, and not ours' (D&C 109:44). As we wait upon the Lord, we are 'immovable in keeping the commandments,' (Alma 1:25) knowing that we will 'one day rest from all [our] afflictions' (Alma 34:41). And we 'cast not away … [our] confidence' (Hebrews 10:35) that 'all things wherewith [we] have been afflicted shall work together for [our] good' (D&C 98:3).

May we wait upon Him by pressing forward in faith, that we may say, 'Thy will be done' (Matthew 26:42), and return to Him with honor."

So maybe it's just me again, but does this not just seem completely daunting?! I want to be so faithful, so willing to accept whatever the Lord has in store for me, but there are also certain blessings that I feel like I deserve right now. I am so far from perfect when it comes to this beautiful characteristic of the Savior of patience, but I am trying my best to develop it. As I have pondered this and how to make it happen in my life, a little video came to my memory. Check it out here:

https://www.lds.org/media-library/video/2009-01-03-come-what-may-and-love-it?lang=eng

I love this! I honestly believe that we can find not only joy and the courage to press on in the midst of waiting, but can actually find the Savior Jesus Christ himself! He is the perfect example of waiting for what the Lord had in store for Him. As we celebrated Easter last weekend, I saw a post on Facebook that really hit home for me. The Savior knew that He was going to die. He knew that part of His Father's plan including His friend and disciple, Judas, betraying Him. The post continues as follows:

"He goes into that room with His disciples. He knows He is going to be betrayed. He knows it is Judas who will turn against him. He knows that He has been sold out for a handful of silver. Stabbed in the back by one He has poured His life into. Yet, in that room, hours before the death of Jesus, Judas ate too. Jesus fed Judas too. Jesus prayed for Judas too. Jesus washed Judas’ feet too. I struggle to fathom that kind of love. A love that would feed the mouth that deceived you. A love that would wash the treasonous feet of the traitor. A love that could forgive even the vilest of betrayals."

Jesus had to wait through a Last Supper, a Garden of Gethsemane, a betrayal and a crucifixion. His reward for being able to wait upon God? Eternal glory. While you and I will not have to wait through those things as the Savior, we will be asked to wait through other difficulties life brings. Some may wait through the death of a love one, others through a disease or sickness. Depression, anxiety, rejection, divorce, belittlement, etc. It's not easy, but it never was for the Savior, so how can we expect that it will be for us? And even though it was never easier for Him, He learned how to wait upon God. When faced with His ultimate test of waiting, He was alone. Because He endured alone, He opened the way for us that we, learning to wait, will always have His help and guidance.

I trust Jesus. I trust His Atoning sacrifice. I trust God. I trust that He has a plan for me. I trust that His timing is better than my own. I trust that learning to wait upon Him ultimately will help me become who I need to become, and return to His glorious presence someday. I trust that as I am given opportunities to wait upon the Lord, that I am standing shoulder to shoulder with other disciples of Christ who have been asked to do the same thing: to wait. May we all find the strength and courage to wait upon the Lord, in good times and difficult ones, as He continues to shape us.