As we continue to travel in our motor home, God is using our dog, Stella, to teach me some valuable spiritual lessons.

Being an enthusiastic dog, whenever we stop, her natural impulse is to rush out the door. Stella always wants to be out first and to run ahead of me. I am training her to learn to wait; I explain to her she doesn’t know where we are or where we are going. It is really about her learning to trust me – that no matter how things look to her, when I tell her to wait, she must learn to wait, listen to what I say, and obey. So far she is better at doing this than we seem to be.

WAIT means to delay acting, with a hopeful expectation; to stand in one place anticipating something.

It is one thing to wait on the Lord in prayer for His Presence to come. It is quite another thing to wait upon Him for specific guidance and direction. The greater challenge is to wait for Him to bring the fulfillment of His Word into our reality. Too often we allow impatience, fear or anxiety to prompt us to take things into our hands and make something happen. When we run ahead of God, we end up creating circumstances and obstacles that distract and hinder us from living in God’s will. The more I learn to wait for God to bring forth His plan into my life, the more I am in awe of the perfection of His timing! God’s timeline is often different from ours; He knows our end from the beginning, whereas we only see the “middle” or present moment. His heart is to work all things together to bring us into the fullness of the purpose and destiny He created for each one of us.

God revealed to Joseph in a dream a glimpse of such great honor even his brothers would bow down before him. True to His Word, in due season, God exalted Joseph to a glorious position in Egypt to be second only to Pharaoh. However, until that time, the word of the Lord tested him! (Psalm 105:19)

In the same manner, David was anointed to be king but it was almost 15 years from the time he was first anointed by Samuel to when he became king over Judah. Then he waited another seven years before he was anointed king over all Israel!

The Lord spoke to Joshua…. “Yet there shall be a space between you and it (the ark), about two thousand cubits by measure. Do not come near it, that you may know the way by which you must go, for you have not passed this way before.” Joshua 3:4

We are in a new season. Many things are happening that have never occurred before. I believe the Lord is releasing new callings, directions, and abilities. Greater measures of boldness and fearlessness are equipping people to do that which they thought impossible. Hearts are being awakened to a keener discerning of spiritual climates God is preparing a people to step into new places of authority. But, like Stella, we must learn to wait and listen for the Lord to direct us.

Exodus 14:13 “And Moses said to the people, Do not be afraid. Stand still (WAIT), and see the salvation of the Lord, which He will accomplish for you today. For the Egyptians whom you see today, you shall see again no more forever.”

Psalms 37:9 “For evildoers shall be cut off; But those who wait on the Lord, They shall inherit the earth.”

Thank You, Lord, for teaching us to wait in trustful expectation for Your will to be done in our lives!