Wait for the Lord’s help. Be strong and brave, and wait for the Lord’s help. Psalm 27:14

What is the most difficult thing about waiting to you?

When have you recently had to wait for something beyond what you wanted to wait?

When have you benefitted from a waiting period?

Waiting isn’t easy. It’s something we’re being taught more and more that we don’t have to tolerate. If there are more than three people in a checkout line, another cashier is summoned. If our internet or phone connections are slow, we can upgrade. Movies are available on demand. We can record television shows to watch at our leisure. Books are delivered to our e-readers in an instant. Waiting isn’t easy because we don’t exercise our waiting muscles.

We can easily generalize the speed of available information in every life to the response of God. After all, God is always present. He knows all. Why can’t he respond instantly? Well, he can, but that doesn’t mean he does. Time isn’t an issue for him. He can command a mountain to move, but he might not remove a small stumbling block from your path for years. Why? Perhaps he’s building his relationship with you. He wants you to experience him. He wants you to rely on him. He wants you to trust his timing instead of demanding your own. When we acknowledge his omnipresence and omniscience, we also have to yield to his will. He knows more than us, so wouldn’t he know better what the perfect response timing would be? Perhaps he has you in wait-training to build your spiritual muscles.

Purposefully sit quietly today. Exercise your muscles of “wait.” You don’t have to be waiting for anything specific. Sit in anticipation of God working in your life. Sit in his presence, trusting him to prepare you for something coming soon in your life. Try not to fill up the space and time of your waiting with your own requests and expectations. Keep your anticipation purely on God’s presence.