We tend to be bad at waiting, which is unfortunate because much of life is waiting.
Waiting places can be hard.
Many years ago I was struck by a little verse in a little book in my scripture study. Jarom 1:11 talks about the prophets, priests and teachers of the people of Nephi working hard to teach their people about Christ and says they wanted to “persuad[e] them to look forward unto the Messiah, and believe in him to come as though he already was” (emphasis added).
Because they lived before Christ came to the earth, this was imperative for them. To fully realize and actualize the blessings that Christ would come to enable, the only thing they could do was to believe as if He had already come.
Really, because mortality is a time of testing, a time to live by faith, this is a principle for all of us.
To live as if the promise already was.
Lehi talked about having “obtained a land of promise” while still waiting for his sons to return from Jerusalem-long before they actually made it there physically. His trust in a God who keeps promises allowed him to see in the present tense those things that hadn’t happened yet.
Paul tells us in Christ we have “obtained an inheritance, being predestinated according to the purpose of him who worketh all things after the counsel of his own will,” (Ephesians 1:11) meaning that God has put into place His plan long before we even came to earth to fulfill His promises.
Knowing this God, we can trust that He both keeps promises and has a plan for their actualization, even when we cannot see how or when.
Laurel C. Day puts it this way: “God’s plan for you has always been in place. It is still in place. And just because things haven’t worked out the way you thought they would, or thought they needed to, or you’re quite certain it’s time for that thing you’re waiting for to resolve itself, that doesn’t mean God’s plan for your life is not still in place. Where you are right now is no surprise to God…And as He promises, He will work [all things] for your good” (Deseret Book, (2022). To Cheer and To Bless: Celebrating 20 Years of Time Out for Women, 67-68).
So what would it look like to live as if?
If we truly believed in the promises to come as thought they already were, what difference would that make?
Perhaps more joy.
More hope.
More gratitude.
More rest in the assurance of things to come.
Less fear, more faith.
More peace.
Our knowledge of God, of His perfect promise keeping, and of Jesus Christ, who provided the way for every promise to be fulfilled allow us to live presently as if all things had already been brought to pass.
There is an end time to our waiting, but we don’t have to wait to find the fruits and feel the effects of promises fulfilled.
We can live as if.
