Isaiah uses the term "wait upon the Lord" on more than one occasion. In the Isaiah passage quoted by Jacob in 2 Nephi 8:5, Isaiah said The isles* shall wait upon me, and on mine arm shall they trust. I quoted of my favorite scriptures yesterday referring to they that wait upon the Lord shall rise on wings as eagles. (Isaiah 40: 31)
For years, I thought of waiting upon the Lord as simply and passively sitting by, waiting for Him to come. With some maturity, I think it is more than that. I suggest we look at other meanings for the word wait. The online dictionary (Merriam Webster) gives great depth to the word. The most obvious definition is the one I just gave: [1] to remain stationary in expectation. Passive waiting is not a worthy goal. If I am not moving forward, I am regressing. I don't remain stationary.
However, when used in the phrase wait upon, it means [2] to serve. That is the way it us used in naming waiters - those who serve meals to patrons. In this light, wait upon the Lord means serve the Lord. This context expands the term from simply passively staying in one place in expectation to being actively involved in serving the Lord. Lords and ladies in waiting to royalty were not passive, but active in serving. Jesus Christ is the ultimate King. To be a lady in waiting is an honor.
One of the questions asked in our study guide is this: What can I do to more faithfully "wait" for the Savior and His promised blessings? Each of us will have his or her own ideas to answer this question. Here are some things that have come to my mind. It is certainly not an exhaustive list.
Under the first definition, I can strive to be more patient. Patient for prayers to be answered. Patient in understanding something that is at present unclear. Patient with others. Patient, knowing that the Lord's timing is not necessarily m timing. Sometimes we approach Him in prayer as if He were some sort of Celestial Santa Claus.
Ideas under the second definition can be almost infinite. We can serve the Lord through our prayers, study of His word, faithful attention to our covenants, and the like. We can also serve the Lord by serving His children with unconditional and unfeigned love. This is particularly true when we serve someone who is difficult to serve. I learned as a teacher that the child who was the most off-putting and who seemed to deserve my love and attention the least was, in fact, the one who needed it the most.
I may be limited in what I can do, but even when I am ill, I can love; I can show compassion. I can be kind. I may be limited, but the Savior is not limited. He has helped me achieve this incredible unconditional love - even for those who appear difficult to love.
© February 2020 Dr. Kathleen Rawlings
Buntin Danielson
*I recently heard a statement that the isles upon the sea frequently mentioned in scriptures include the continents of North and South America. Columbus referred to them as such in his journals.
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