I just returned from a trip to be with family and see my oldest grandson get baptized. It was a wonderful trip. Now that I’m back in town, I’m back to the reality that the job I’ve had for 15 years will probably end by the end of this year or before. So it’s time to begin job hunting. That brings up some uncertainty and bit of anxiety.

I’ve been writing about who we are in the Lord. By faith we are blessed with every spiritual blessing, chosen to be holy and blameless, adopted into His family, redeemed by the blood of Jesus, forgiven and reconciled with the Father, who has shared His wonderful mystery with us that gives us eternal hope, we are sealed by the Holy Spirit, to show that we belong to Him, guaranteeing our eternal security, and we are now seated with Christ. All of that is true! Our Father loves us and will provide for us if we seek Him with all of our hearts.

However, while we wait we aren’t to sit and wait for a knock on the door, we are to move prayerfully in action and faith. I found a devotional from Our Daily Bread today that I really needed to “hear” and keep close to my heart, that I’m sharing with you below.

“Waiting for the fish to bite or waiting for wind to fly a kite. Or waiting around for Friday night . . . Everyone is just waiting”—or so Dr. Seuss, author of many children’s books, says. So much of life is about waiting, but God is never in a hurry—or so it seems. “God has His hour and delay,” suggests an old, reliable saying. Thus we wait. “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.” (Psalm 37:7a)

Waiting is hard. We twiddle our thumbs, shuffle our feet, stifle our yawns, heave long sighs, and fret inwardly in frustration. Why must I live with this awkward person, this tedious job, this embarrassing behavior, this health issue that will not go away? Why doesn’t God come through?

God’s answer: “Wait awhile and see what I will do.”

Waiting is one of life’s best teachers for in it we learn the virtue of . . . well, waiting—waiting while God works in us and for us. It’s in waiting that we develop endurance, the ability to trust God’s love and goodness, even when things aren’t going our way (Psalm 70:5).

But waiting is not dreary, teeth-clenched resignation. We can “rejoice and be glad in [Him]” while we wait. We wait in hope, knowing that God will deliver us in due time—in this world or in the next. God is never in a hurry, but He’s always on time. And the most important thing about waiting is that God is with us in our waiting.

Dear Lord, thank You for Your loving presence. Help us to make the most of our waiting through trust in and service for You.