Our life is full of waiting. Waiting in line at a store. Waiting for a special day to come. Waiting for a baby to be born. Waiting for a weekend or vacation. Waiting for a text or call back. Waiting for a delivery. Waiting for a traffic light. I know Jodi and I are anxiously waiting for October when we get to see our grandkids again. Waiting. Our life is full of it.

Have you ever found yourself waiting for God? Waiting for His direction, His move, His wisdom, His next step for you? I know Jodi and I have spent much of our life together waiting on God. When we’re waiting, we often just put it on the back burner while we continue to live. Not always dwelling on it, yet it isn’t far from our thoughts, just kind of sitting there staring at us.

How do we deal with waiting for God? Is there a purpose to waiting? Where is God in our waiting? Wow, so many questions about something that is in a sense about nothing…doing nothing before knowing what to do. Then there is yet another question, is waiting passive or can it be active? Is your head spinning yet? Mine is.

Let’s look at what God’s Word says about waiting.

Acts 1:3-5 says, “For 40 days after Jesus had suffered and died, he proved in many ways that he had been raised from death. He appeared to his apostles and spoke to them about God's kingdom. While he was still with them, he said: Don't leave Jerusalem yet. Wait here for the Father to give you the Holy Spirit, just as I told you he has promised to do. John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Imagine living out this moment of time? Jesus had died a gruesome death; all hope was lost then…He was raised from the dead and He spent 40 days living amongst the people proving it was really Him. Jesus had been dead and was now alive and He still had to “prove it”. Skepticism can run deep and it’s been around a long time.

Consider the excitement of those that had believed in Jesus, had their hopes dashed through His death, and when they were most destitute realized that He was indeed alive after all? What a range of emotions in just a few days. Doesn’t life just feel all over the place like that at times? It’s like, “Ahh, things are looking good…oops, nope, ahhhhh…things are terrible…but wait…can it be real…what’s going on…ok, it is purposeful after all.”

So, after 40 days of being with the resurrected Jesus, and He is getting ready to leave them for good this time, He tells them to…you guessed it…w.a.i.t! Yup, they had their hopes dashed, reignited, and now they must wait for His promise.

The word, “wait” in Acts means “to wait for, to stay around”. Waiting FOR is different than just waiting. Waiting FOR implies purpose. Waiting FOR “something”. They were to wait FOR the Holy Spirit.

Jesus could have breathed the Holy Spirit on them before He left but instead, they had to wait. Is it possible that there is purpose in waiting? We may not always know it, see it, like it, want it, but that doesn’t mean there isn’t a purpose.

There was another definition for “wait” in this instance - to “stay around”. “Staying around” also equates to me faithfulness, not going anywhere, being steadfast, and determined. Sometimes we just need to stay around and not give up and walk away. At Celebrate Recovery we encourage folks to just keep showing up, keep doing the work, and see the life and freedom God will bring over time. Don’t underestimate the power of showing up, keeping at it, and staying around over time.

Maybe that’s what God was after in their lives, He wanted to see if they could stay around when they weren’t seeing miracles, weren’t hearing His voice, weren’t having Him “prove” Himself to them.
How do we do when we don’t see any of the “proofs of God” in our lives? Do we “stay around” or do we walk away?

It was about 10 days later (50 days from His resurrection), that they received what He had promised. The Bible says that Jesus showed Himself alive to over 500 people (see 1 Corinthians 15:6). However, on the Day of Pentecost (when the Holy Spirit came as promised) there were only 120 people present (see Acts 1:15). Could it be that 380 more people could have been there but walked away…didn’t “stay around” …didn’t wait? That’s just speculation but an interesting thought.

What Jesus promised did indeed come to pass for those that waited and stayed around. Whatever you are waiting for today, I want to encourage you to wait with purpose, to stay around. Don’t walk away. God is in the waiting. Even before He moves, before He speaks, before He shows up, before there is evidence of Him at work, He is there with you. May you know His nearness today. May you know the power of waiting.

I want to leave you with another scripture that is well known regarding waiting:

”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.
Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV)

This “wait” means to look for eagerly, hope, expectation, linger

Whatever you are waiting for today, do it with hope, and expectation. Look eagerly to and linger with Jesus. The secret is in embracing the wait by lingering with God. He is indeed in the waiting. He is the ultimate prize for us no matter what the outcome of our waiting is. As we linger with Him, we will mount up with wings like eagles, run and not be weary, walk and not faint. It’s never been about us getting what we’re looking for, it’s about getting to be with Him and receiving all He has for us from Himself. Don’t despise waiting. Enjoy the wait. God is found in the waiting.

Know that we love you dearly.

Dean

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