December 13, 2022

Acts 1: 4 (NIV)

“Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.”

We sometimes find it hard to believe that time spent in waiting is not wasted.*

Lost souls are like people caught in a house fire. They need to be rescued. Most Christians, however, tend to think of the lost as if they are in a house that might catch fire sometime in the future. “Wait until the fire starts, then we’ll rescue them,” we think. We don’t feel the urgency because we don’t see the fire.

In this passage in Acts, the resurrected Jesus was meeting with his apostles. They surely felt the urgency to get out of their training seminar and get busy saving the world. They could see that house in flames. But here is Jesus telling them to wait. For these men who understood the urgency of the mission, waiting had to be the last thing they expected Jesus to command them to do.

Why did they have to wait? So they would be properly equipped. A fireman doesn’t rush into that burning house without the right equipment. A few moments of preparation could make all the difference for those he is about to rescue. If he’s not ready, he will probably fail and die along with those in the house. Jesus didn’t want his followers to rush out into the world before they had everything they needed. Their training was nearly complete; it only remained for them to wait for that final piece of necessary life-saving equipment: the Holy Spirit. The one Jesus promised would teach them all things and remind them of everything he had told them (John 14: 26). Their fire-fighting gear!

How long would they have to wait? A few days, he said. Can’t you just sense the impatience of his listeners? A few days! Couldn’t you be a little more specific? Waiting may test our faith more than anything else we will ever face. We see the need; we’re chomping at the bit; time’s a’wastin’ and he wants us to wait! That’s the thing about spiritual warfare. We don’t know what is happening beyond the realm of our senses but God does. So we have to wait until he says, “Go.” You may see that house ablaze but perhaps God has another fireman in mind for that one. Perhaps he is preparing you to fight a fire that hasn’t started yet. All we know is that when Jesus says to wait, we wait. 

Have you prayed and prayed, and waited and waited, and still you see no evidence of an answer? . . . Instead of thinking of waiting as being wasted time, realize that God is preparing his resources and strengthening you as well.*