WAIT FOR IT .... WAIT FOR IT ....

 JUNE 8, 2022

ACTS 1:4-5, 8-14

4 On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

9 After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.

10 They were looking intently up into the sky as he was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them. 11 “Men of Galilee,” they said, “why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.”

12 Then the apostles returned to Jerusalem from the hill called the Mount of Olives, a Sabbath day’s walk from the city. 13 When they arrived, they went upstairs to the room where they were staying . . . . 14 They all joined together constantly in prayer, along with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with his brothers.

ACTS 2:1

When the day of Pentecost came, they were all together in one place.




Let me ask you a question to start today. Do you ever feel like God may have you waiting longer for an answer to prayer, or a desire of your heart, than you would like to wait?

There is a lot of waiting in Acts chapter 1 isn’t there. Jesus told the disciples to stay in Jerusalem and wait for the promised coming of the Holy Spirit. The disciple’s obedience is on display, they did just what Jesus said, and they gathered in an upper room for prayer and seeking God day after day, waiting for God’s promise to be fulfilled.

Jesus never told them how long they would have to wait. I sometimes think about what the disciples’ expectations were. I’m not that great at waiting, so I feel if I were in their place, I might think, “On the third day, God will send the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit.” After all, the resurrection of Jesus was three days after His crucifixion. But it wasn’t on the third day. Surely it will be the seventh day. Seven is God’s number of completion and fulfillment. But it wasn’t the seventh day.

Acts 2:1 opens with telling us they waited until the Day of Pentecost had come, (in some Bibles it says “fully come”). Yet what stands out is that they didn’t know ahead of time how long they would have to wait. But they had to wait a full 10 days, until the Day of Pentecost had fully come.

The disciples had to wait, probably longer than they expected to wait, or wanted to wait. I can relate, can’t you? Yet wait they did and prayed for the promise of God to become a reality. Faithfully obeying the command of Jesus without knowing the “when” or “how long” the process was going to take. But the outpouring of God’s Spirit was worth the wait!! You never wait too long for something this amazing.

There are several take aways from our passage today, but the one that really grabs me is what it teaches, or reminds us about God. God keeps his promises!! God is faithful. Yes, sometimes the waiting gets uncomfortable for us, but so many of us can testify to the truth, that if we Keep trusting God; we are not going to be disappointed, we will be overwhelmed by how the fulfillment of God’s promise will go beyond or dreams or anything we could have imagined.

Let’s live in that space!!


Enter your day with these thoughts:

That God REJOICES over us with singing because HE DELIGHTS IN US!!

That God is our PROVIDER!!

That GOD IS FAITHFUL TO HIS PROMISES!!

 

For no matter 

how many promises 

God has made,
they are “Yes” in Christ.

 2 Corinthians 1:20