In my scripture reading recently I came to Isaiah 40:31. In the KJV this reads:
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.
There are many beautiful things about this verse that could have caught my attention, but this time it was that starting phrase: “they that wait upon the LORD”. In the LDS scriptures there is a footnote that elaborates on that phrase, explaining it to mean hoping for or anticipating the coming of God. It denotes an active, motivating feeling.
The most significant reason for the verse’s impact on me this time through came because of my own personal definition for hope. I most usefully hold hope to be righteous ambition. I believe this definition to provide the correct mentality we should have in the gospel: we look to the future as something to work toward, in which we have a part and a vested interest. This verse, then, tells us the object of that ambition. What characteristics will define our life, education, work, and plans if the terminal object of our efforts is God and His work and glory? If this, rather than any secular attainment, is the fixation of our mind?