The Promise of Stamina

At our stake conference in February there was a musical number with the text from Isaiah’s words:

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)

I thought it was really interesting how those promises are extended to those who keep the Word of Wisdom too, and I realized that they are just two sides of the same thing—where stamina comes from. Physical stamina comes from eating wholesome things that give us strength. Spiritual stamina comes from absorbing and living true doctrine and trusting in the Lord. Both aspects of stamina are necessary for us.

What mother doesn’t need stamina to deal with her children throughout the day? What man doesn’t need stamina to earn a living and then come home and be a good father? What missionary doesn’t need stamina out tracting? What church leader doesn’t need stamina to make it through the meetings and interviews? What child doesn’t need stamina to do their chores? What teen doesn’t need stamina to do well at school and then be kind to their family? And with all this, there is that promise of mounting up with wings as eagles, and actually going higher, becoming better, even as the winds of opposition grow stronger!