Verse of the Day for March 21

David says almost the same thing twice in this psalm, and the small difference between the two is the whole point.

In verse one it is a statement: truly my soul waiteth upon God. By verse five it has become an instruction he is giving himself.

My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.

He is talking to himself, out loud, in the imperative. That is worth noticing in a book of prayers — not everything here is addressed upward.

And the word only is where the work is. Waiting on God alongside four contingency plans is not what he means. Expectation from him is a narrowing, and narrowing is what makes waiting quiet.

Divided expectation is the loudest condition there is. You are watching several doors at once and cannot rest at any of them.

Some of what you are calling anxiety is simply expectation spread across too many possible rescuers.

Say it to yourself in the imperative, the way he did. Wait thou only.