Acts 1:4 - Wait For It.....

Monday 3/12/12 – Wait For It…..

Acts 1:4 And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me;”

Interpretation:

     Jesus had risen from the dead and appeared to many people. Now, He is about to go up to Heaven. But before Jesus leaves for Heaven, He needs to give His disciples some last minute instructions. He’s about to tell them that they are going to receive the Holy Spirit who is going to empower them to be His witnesses.

     However, in this verse, I find it very interesting that Jesus tells them to wait. It’s an exciting time because Jesus just conquered death; and Christianity as we know it is on a roll. One would think that Jesus would specify how short life is and how soon He’ll be coming back as He gives His disciples a pep-talk to get them all excited to go out and serve. You’d think He’d say something along the lines of “Don’t waste any time! Get out there as fast and as far as you can and go deliver the gospel!” But He doesn’t. He says “Wait.” So often, Jesus says “Wait” to us as Christians as well. The important thing to remember here is that God’s thoughts are not our thoughts, His plans are not our plans, and His timing is not our timing. While we are so eager to get out and do something for the Lord and make a move in a certain direction, He might want us to wait.

     Why? Well there may be multiple answers. In Isaiah 40:30-31, I believe we see one reason why God tells so many of us to wait. “Even the youths shall faint and be weary. And the young men shall utterly fall. But those who wait on the Lord shall renew their strength; They shall mount up with wings like eagles, They shall run and not be weary. They shall walk and not faint.” If we do something for God at the moment we get eager, it’s possible that we would do it in our own strength and according to Isaiah 40:30 we’ll eventually faint and be weary. But in Isaiah 40:31 lies the secret to why Jesus was telling His disciples to wait – they would get the Promise (i.e. the Holy Spirit) from God and be able to do everything in God’s strength and not get tired.

     But along with telling us to wait because He wants to make sure that we are going to go forward in the Spirit’s strength and not ours, I believe there’s another reason. If the only reason was making sure that the Spirit was given first, then why wouldn’t Jesus just give them the Holy Spirit the second He ascended to Heaven? You see, as the disciples waited, they didn’t wait idly, but rather they spent time praying and seeking God. God treasures fellowship with His children; and when we wait on the Lord, if we’re doing it right, we’ll be seeking Him during that time. For instance, when I feed my dog dinner, I’ll tell him to sit and stay as I put his food in his bowl. He’s been trained not to get up and eat until I tell him he can. So while my dog’s waiting, you know what he’s doing? He’s looking to me, waiting and listening for the slightest hint that it’s time to get up and eat. And this, my friends, is the important part of Christianity. It’s not getting out and doing as much as we can in our own strength, but rather it’s keeping our eyes focused on Christ as we wait for His instruction and power in everything we do.

Application:

     I will ask God to empower me with His Spirit and strength in everything I do today. I will then stay alert throughout the day for times when I am getting too busy. During these times, I will listen to hear if God’s telling me to stop what I’m doing and wait on Him as I take a few minutes out of my schedule to seek Him and His power.