In writing these words, "Wait, I say, on the Lord," the Psalmist must have had the true sense of waiting in mind, for the sentiment closes a most illuminating psalm, the twenty-seventh, which begins, "The Lord is my light and my salvation; whom shall I fear?" The deeper meaning of the word "wait" is "to look (mentally); to be in expectation"; and "to wait on" as used in the Bible is to place one's hope in God with expectation. The inspired pages of the Bible abound in expressions which indicate the existence of a presence and power upon which we are bidden to wait, greater than any human power, adequate for every need.

The tests applied down through the centuries prove the reality of the supreme power over material weakness. Physical healings, deliverances from danger, supply made apparent in time of need, these evidence the presence of this great unseen yet ever-present divine power, the effect of which is to preserve mankind, uphold, protect, and supply its every need.

The Israelites were protected at the Red Sea in a most unexpected way as they fled before the Egyptians (see Exodus, Chapter 14). Elisha witnessed the need of a great company provided for by means of a few loaves of bread and a little corn (see II Kings 4:42–44). Jesus' work was identified with the healing of the blind, the fever-stricken, the lepers, the epileptic, the insane, and the raising of the dead. The Bible record abounds in a multitude of healings, preservations, and deliverances which establish the reality of spiritual power as applied to the needs of humanity.

In the daytime of activity or in the nighttime of repose men learn to wait on God with expectation. Such expectation is founded on faith and an understanding of the law that is basic in all spiritual healing. Mary Baker Eddy, the Discoverer and Founder of Christian Science, defines Christian Science thus: "As the law of God, the law of good, interpreting and demonstrating the divine Principle and rule of universal harmony" (Rudimental Divine Science, p. 1). To be operative, this law must be invoked; it must be utilized. It needs not only to be understood but also to be accepted and applied to a situation. Although divine law is self-enforcing, it must be willingly admitted into human consciousness and allowed full sway.

A student of Christian Science was once in great need of material and physical support and healing. Very important duties, which seemed impossible for him to do but which had to be done, lay before this student. The demand was imperative, but the ability to perform seemed lacking. It was then he applied divine law by holding to the truth that no demand can be made upon one greater than the power of God to supply; that God, good, embraces all clearness of understanding for the student's use, all strength for his support, all harmony and calmness for his peace, all ability for his utilization. In appreciation of these simple yet imperative needs the student was able each day to fulfill the exacting tasks with correctness and credit and with further proof that as one waits on God with undeviating expectation he is able to present evidence that, as the Bible says (Rev. 19:6), "The Lord God omnipotent reigneth."

No matter what the need may be, when there comes the demand, God in His omnipotence is able amply to supply that need. Truth is mightier than error and is instant in its supply. God supplies all that is needed in the very instant it is needed and in the amount it is needed—power, dominion, strength, peace, assurance, and fruition. There is no separation between the human need and God's giving. At the very moment that a need appears, God's supply of energy and power, safety and peace, is fully available. There is no hiatus or delay.

One might ask how he can scientifically wait on God. To wait thus may be said to apply to the giving of a Christian Science treatment. "Treatment"' is a term describing the application of divine law, which corrects erroneous material conditions and reveals that which is good. It is a divinely mental activity wherein the condition is resolved into a state of thought, and erroneous beliefs are replaced with the ideas of Soul. This takes place in the consciousness of the individual. The basis for this translation is a completely spiritual one wherein God, Mind, Spirit, Principle, is recognized as the only reality, the All-in-all, and matter, evil, and disease are seen as material unreality. From this basis the beliefs of fear, discord, and evil disappear as good is recognized as supreme. Then even material conditions undergo a change.

We are in an age when duties and requirements of living are exacting, and sometimes the demands seem greater than the ability to perform them. One should not feel discouraged or dubious when contemplating this situation. There is no requirement beyond an individual's ability to fulfill it, if his reliance is placed on Truth. The more insistent seems the need, the closer one is pushed to surrendering human will and allowing divine direction and control to take possession of his thinking.

Mrs. Eddy writes in "Science and Health with Key to the Scriptures" (p. 323): "Beholding the infinite tasks of truth, we pause, —wait on God. Then we push onward, until boundless thought walks enraptured, and conception unconfined is winged to reach the divine glory."

Waiting on God requires an active rather than a passive attitude of thought. It means a stirring of the human mind from inertia and inactivity to an alert, obedient state wherein one is ready to receive the divine command to move forward and avail himself of the benefits of spiritual power. Fresh incentive comes from new interest aroused by an increased love for God and a desire to follow His direction. One does not wait for fear to subside, but moves forward in spite of fear and its evil forebodings. This scientifically determined sense of conquering fear by one's moving directly against and over its claims is a positive way to overcome it.

Fear is not actually the active presence of evil, but the emotion induced by one's expectation of it; it is not something now occurring, but is what one believes may occur, what may come to pass. Fear, therefore, is never about anything in the realm of the real; it is always about the unreal, always about nothing.

One meets fear by a direct move forward, not by waiting for it to subside. One who does his duty despite fear opens the way for divine protection. It is sometimes said in military tactics that the best defense is to move forward.

In reference to this injunction to move forward in spite of fear and thus challenge error's bluff, as it were, we may recall a famous saying attributed to Marshal Turenne. When his attendants noticed his knees shaking as he mounted his horse to ride into battle, he said, "If my knees knew where I am going to take them, they'd be shaking worse than that."

Indifference and disinterest in things about us display not so much a lessening of material sense as a failing spiritual sense. Waiting on God opens up a wider interest in people and things, a more appreciative sense of beauty, which is akin to the spiritual, a more discerning evaluation of events and circumstances, a lively recognition of the leading power of God in men's affairs.

Life is demonstrated not only in the realization but in the expectation of good. Good is substantive and real. It is synonymous with God. To live good and do good Is to wait on God and see the expectation and fulfillment of all good. As we live each day in the simple appreciation of good, rejoicing in its presence, grateful for its abundance, bearing faithful expectation of its continuing supply, we shall wait on God continually, bearing the fruits of an abundant life.