Nobody in our culture likes to wait. It’s easy to become impatient for the doctor to enter the exam room, the grocery cashier to work faster, or the website to load. Patience can even be elusive in our relationship with God if He doesn’t answer our prayer requests as soon as we want.

David, the author of today’s psalm, wrote often about the need to wait on the Lord. In the original language, this word means “to rest quietly” or “to quiet oneself.” Does that describe how you wait, or do you fret and worry?

The key to waiting quietly for the Lord is to maintain your hope in Him regardless of your situation. That’s how David was able to wait for God’s ordained time to become king. Although he was anointed as king in his youth, the promise wasn’t fulfilled until he was 30 years old. In those intervening years he suffered much hardship and unfairness, but he upheld his hope in the Lord.

Are you waiting today for God to change or accomplish something in your life? If so, follow David’s example: With awareness that the Lord is your refuge and strength, trust in both His timing and provision.