In my neighborhood, the pedestrian walk signal has an audio cue that commands, “Wait!” to tell pedestrians it’s not yet time to cross the street. My friends and I like to jokingly add “only on God” while we stand there waiting for our turn to cross. I was recently grateful for this reminder because there was a lot that I was waiting for—exam results, a job change, a housing application, holiday plans, relationships to settle, et cetera.

Recognizing that I needed to seek a higher, more inspired, sense of what it means to wait, I turned to the Bible. There I read the story about the man at the pool of Bethesda who had been waiting for almost forty years to be healed of an infirmity (see John 5:2–9). The movement of the water was believed to have healing properties, and the man hoped to be the first to step into the water when it moved. While those at the pool were waiting for this movement in the hope of being healed, Jesus healed the man instantly—through God’s movement of his thought. By telling the man to get up immediately and walk, Jesus showed that God, good, does not dole out His blessings to a few individuals on rare occasions, but is present right now, always blessing all of His beloved children equally. This changed view healed the man, and he immediately got up and walked.

Are we waiting patiently with an expectation of good?