"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". (Isaiah 40:31)

Today has been a day when I really miss drinking coke. Coke with cherry in it, coke with vanilla in it, coke zero, or just plain coke. It has been a day of "temptations". I gave up drinking coke over 2 1/2 years ago, not so much by choice, but because of health issues. I thought I would, after a while, quit craving coke. But I was wrong. There are days where I just crave it. The clinking of the ice on the glass, the fizzing of the bubbles as I put the glass up to my face. The sensation of the tiny bubbles on my tongue as I hold the soda just for a couple of seconds before I swallow. Some people may think, well, just have a coke. What's the big deal? The big deal is my health. I have to keep the bigger picture in mind, and it is so not worth the pain to drink it. So, I wait patiently, but mostly impatiently, for the craving to pass. Waiting and patience aren't my best qualities, not at all. And definitely not when I am craving a coke. And as I write this, I realize the real temptation isn't the coke, but my reaction and my behavior that surrounds the "craving". The real temptation lies in my behavior and not being kind or patient, the "better me".

So, this is a "temptation" for me...or is it a "trial" and what can I do about it now?! (Because I really don't want to bite someones head off -because then I will feel really bad and I will crave a coke even more.) As I read my scriptures this morning, I read these words from James: "My brethern (and sisters), count it all joy when ye fall into divers temptations" (James 1:2). Really?! Count it joy that I can't have a coke today, especially when I am in such a "mood" (my family knows what I mean). So, I kept reading: "Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience. But let patience have her perfect work, that ye may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:3-4). (If you follow the footnote on "divers" it says: "many afflictions".) We all have afflictions, and we all have temptations. So, how do we handle those temptations and afflictions? Do we give in? Do we count them as joy? James says that "the trying of [our] faith worketh patience" (James 1:3). (My patience is definitely being tried). What exactly is patience?

I looked up the definition of patience: "good-natured tolerance of delay or incompetence" (The Free Dictionary). To tolerate delay would mean, to me, simply to wait without compliant and be calm or not bothered by it. Which led my thoughts to "waiting". We are so often asked to "wait upon the Lord" (Isaiah 40:31). We "wait" for His timing for things to work out. I have heard this and it is true and experienced it myself. We do need to wait for His timing (see D&C 64:32). But waiting is hard...especially when we need patience now!!! Then I started thinking that to "wait upon the Lord" can have a different meaning.

Wait can mean more than sitting there in rest or expecting something to happen or even feeling neglected or unattended to (see The Free Dictionary). It can also mean: "1) To remain or be in readiness or 2) To work as a waiter or waitress" (The Free Dictionary). What if we were to "wait" upon the Lord, like a waiter or a waitress, ready to help and remain ready to help in every need that the Lord would ask us to serve Him? I know the Lord doesn't need our help because He "has all wisdom" and "is all powerful" (Mosiah 4:9) and "with God nothing shall be impossible" (Luke 1:37). But... He allows us to help each other, to be the hands that help lift each other up (see Hebrews 12:12) because in helping each other and serving each other we are not only serving Him (see Mosiah 2:17), but He is letting "patience have her perfect work, that [we] may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:4). He is letting us be changed as we "wait".

With this new understanding of "wait", meaning to serve the Lord, let's put it into a couple of scriptures replacing 'service' with 'waiting'. "Therefore, O ye that embark in the [waiting] of God, see that ye [wait upon] him with all your heart, might, mind and strength, that ye may stand blameless before God at the last day" (D&C 4:2). When we are "waiting upon God" we are worshiping Him. And to worship God, we don't just sit around hoping things will happen that we want to happen. We put our faith to work (see James 2:14-26) and in so doing, we are changed that "[we] may be perfect and entire, wanting nothing" (James 1:4).

Another scripture with the new understanding of "wait", replacing 'wait upon' with 'serve': "But they that [serve] 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" (Isaiah 40:31). When we are serving the Lord, waiting upon Him by doing more than just passing the time, our strength is renewed. Our burdens, or temptations are lighter, as though we had wings, even though they might not be gone, but they are lighter and we help make other peoples burdens lighter as well (see Mosiah 24:15; Mosiah 18:8). We are able to "run" and we are not "weary", meaning physically or mentally worn out, but are cheerful and happier as we "serve". We are also able to "walk" His walk (see 2 John 1:6) and we will not "faint", meaning we won't lose our courage to keep His commandments and continue walking in His path every day (see Micah 4:2).

It is such a blessing to "wait upon the Lord" (Isaiah 40:31) because we are allowing the Lord to do His work on us, which is "bring to pass the immortality and eternal life of man" (Moses 1:39). He knows exactly what He is doing. He even makes our temptations into joy (see James 1:2) so that we can become more like Him. What a wonderful, incredible, and amazing plan. This I testify.