In the August 24-30, 2020 Come, Follow Me lesson, we were reminded of the great general conference talk from Brother Devin G. Durrant in October 2015 about “ponderizing” (“My Heart Pondereth Them Continually,” Ensign, Nov. 2015). I must say that I have not been able to maintain my “ponderizing” habit since 2015. However, I have begun again to “ponderize” the scriptures.
The first scripture that I chose to ponder is Isaiah 40:31: “But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (italics added). This was again a strong reminder that we need to “wait upon the Lord.” What does that mean?
Trusting and Confiding in Jesus Christ
I like the French translation: it says that we need to trust or confide in the Lord. Let’s consider this. When we “wait upon the Lord,” we expect His help in our daily lives; we expect His inspiration in our challenges and trials; we are confident that He will come and help. When we have any anxiety related to the current pandemic, we “wait upon the Lord.”
We need to trust in Him and confide in Him with respect to those challenges and trials, and He will come and help—especially with His Spirit.
And what happens when we do trust and confide in the Lord? He renews our strength! We are revived! We elevate ourselves as an eagle! We can walk and run without being weary and without fainting. That also means there is no fear, no worries about what happens in our lives.
When we fully confide in the Lord, we are abiding by this scripture in Doctrine and Covenants 59:21, “And in nothing doth man offend God, or against none is his wrath kindled, save those who confess not his hand in all things, and obey not his commandments.” Is this easy to do? Well, yes and no. We too often forget to trust the Lord! We need to know that He is absolutely fully aware of our situation, that He has suffered for all our trials and challenges, and that He is in control.
Facing Trials
I recently had a wake-up call on that subject. Last March, I was diagnosed with a pretty aggressive form of cancer. It reminded me that even when we do our best to obey the commandments, or to be active in the restored Church of Jesus Christ, to fulfill our responsibilities in the calling He has given us, we are not exempt from trials. And that will also affect those who surround us. But I “wait upon the Lord”: I have trust in Him and confide in Him. Whatever happens to me is now in His hands. And I am happy to submit to His will.
The pandemic is another circumstance in which our faith in the Lord must be solid. Is this among the seven plagues mentioned in Revelation 15? I do not know. But if it is, there are more to come. If not, there are still more to come one day or another. Are we ready to “wait upon the Lord” and have full trust in Him? Are we willing to submit to our Heavenly Father’s will in any circumstances? Do we have that “perfect brightness of hope” (2 Nephi 31:20) that will make us fly like eagles when we need to? Or can we walk and run, maybe away from temptations or from another disaster, without being weary or without fainting?
Receiving a “Perfect Brightness of Hope” through Jesus Christ
We live in the last days, and although we are longing to see the return of our Lord and Savior, there will be hardships and trials before His coming. We need a strong testimony. We need to confide in our Father in Heaven. We need to have this “perfect brightness of hope” that all will be well for all who are obedient and confide in the Lord.
I testify that we are part of His restored Church, even The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints. I know that the Lord has atoned for our sins. Our Savior has felt in His bosom all the pains, the trials, and the sorrows that each of us may encounter during our mortal lives. He knows us by name, by our doings, and by our sufferings. We can trust Jesus. The promises of eternal life are real, if only we are obedient and willing to repent and “wait upon the Lord.” I love Him with all my heart for what He has done for me.