“Trust and wait!” Not popular words. We live in times, places, and societies where we feel “entitled” to instant action. But in my experiences, and in lives of people I love, I’ve learned that trust and wait expresses our faith in God’s infinite knowledge and love.
Our family recently enjoyed a visit with my wife’s parents, who live in a small town in the Midwest, USA. My in-laws are well known in the area for their unwavering dedication to serving those around them. I met one of those served, who reminded me about my father-in-law’s patient and untiring service to him. This tribute made me think about what it means to trust in the Lord’s timing.
Endurance Tested
About 20 years ago, “Charles” moved into the area. My father-in-law was told about the recent move and assigned to go welcome him to the area. As he visited with Charles, my father-in-law naturally invited him to church. Charles said he hadn’t been attending church, and he would come back when he was ready.
This did not deter my father-in-law from making Charles feel welcome in the area. He visited Charles every weekend and invited him to church. He had to trust and wait for the next 20 years. Except for a possible missed weekend or two, my father-in-law spent the next 20 years faithfully visiting Charles to let him know that he was loved and cared for.
A couple of years ago Charles said it was time for him to come back. He started attending church. His wife was baptized, and now he attends church with his wife and kids every weekend. When my father-in-law decided 20 years ago to trust and wait for the blessings he wanted for Charles, he was prepared to do just that.
If my father-in-law was seeking gratification for his own efforts, he might have abandoned his commitment. But when we are committed to and trust the Lord’s timing, we can focus our full heart on serving and loving regardless of the outcome.
My father-in-law never got discouraged; he knew the Lord would fulfill his trust.
Doctrine and Covenants 88:68 promises, “The days will come that you shall see him; for he will unveil his face unto you, and it shall be in his own time, and in his own way, and according to his own will.”
Significant Details
My parents also had opportunities requiring them to trust and wait for blessings that might have seemed delayed, particularly as they prepared to serve a mission.
They were eager to complete and submit all of their paperwork and applications so they could receive a call and find out where they would serve. But they had to wait a few weeks for local leaders to do their part in the submission process.
Despite the application delays, the submission was successful and my parents received their call to Sri Lanka. They were so excited and began their mission with great enthusiasm. Early in their service, they had to go to the government office in Sri Lanka to apply for a visa allowing them to remain in the country as missionaries.
They found themselves entangled in red tape and missing paper. The usual visa applications were unavailable, so the person helping them grabbed a different visa form for them. They completed it and were approved for a visa shortly afterward.
Visa in hand, they soon learned that the government had decided to remove the missionaries temporarily from Sri Lanka based on the type of visa they had received when arriving in the country. All of the missionaries were removed except my parents. The type of visa application shoved at them in the absence of the usual forms produced a different type of visa.
For a long time my parents were the only missionaries in Sri Lanka, and they were able to bless the lives of many through their love and service. (See photo above—elephant not abused.) My parents note that perhaps if they had left on their mission when they were struggling to get off as soon as possible, they would have had a different type of visa and been removed with the other missionaries. They have definitely learned that unanticipated blessings may be waiting when we are waiting with trust that God’s timing must prevail.
Isaiah warned generations to come (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.”
An Apostolic Testimony
Is one inactive Church member worth 20 years of active, faithful weekly service? Is one missionary couple called to an island-country many of us couldn’t locate on a map worth upending a visa system. ABSOLUTELY!
The Lord loves every one of His children with a strength, power, compassion, and tenderness none of us could possibly understand. And He alone knows the infinite number of people who will ultimately be affected by the rescued family and by the love and service of the dedicated missionaries.
The Lord knew when Charles’ family was ready for the Church, and He knew the abilities and potentials of the missionaries. Those who were carrying out his work knew that they needed to trust and wait.
Late apostle Robert D. Hales explained that in 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.”
He emphasized,
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.”
As we learn to wait upon the Lord, may we be blessed with the strength to do this and the joy that comes with it. I don’t call Charles’ return or my parents’ loving, joyful mission “stories” or “examples.” I call them MIRACLES!
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