Waiting is the hardest part

Waiting is the hardest part. Acts 1.1-8. 

Greetings. 

Maybe Tom Petty was right—waiting is the hardest part. “Every day you see one more card--you take it on faith, you take it to the heart. The waiting is the hardest part.”♪1 Waiting builds anticipation, but it also produces anxiety and angst. But waiting has always been part of the life of the faithful, and God uses it mightily to turn us to him. David spoke of it, “I waited patiently for the Lord; 
he turned to me and heard my cry.”2 What do you suppose enabled David to wait patiently? Isaiah promises that “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.”3 

Picture yourself atop the Mount of Olives with Jesus’ inner circle . . . you can hardly wait to tell people you had not been a fool to trust in the Messiah Jesus; after all, he had done what he said he would do—defeat the grave, and rise again. While you hid out when he was crucified, all hopes dashed, now you’re anxious to head out and tell others about your experience with the risen Lord. Then before your very eyes, he ascends into the clouds! But Jesus had said, “wait for the gift my Father promised . . . the Holy Spirit.” 

Don’t you see the command to wait defies logic, defies reason and the shared experiences of the eyewitnesses. Think of Thomas – the one who had doubted, the one who had questioned, to whom Jesus said, ‘look at my hands, touch my side and believe.’ Thomas did both, and then believed. But now the Lord told him to wait. ‘I know you believe, I know you want to tell others, but wait.’ Wait . . . what? It is totally counterintuitive to be still, to wait for further impartation, yet that is what the devoted were told to do . . . wait. Wait for the Holy Spirit. Sigh. 

True confession here: I’m not the best ‘waiter’. 

This was the first time that believers were told to seek the impartation of the Holy Spirit, but it was really a foreshadowing of what all of us ought be seeking – even more than 2000 years later. 
We ought be desirous and asking for a visitation by the Holy Spirit – 
to enable us to walk out life in his power, 
to understand, apprehend and become those who live in 
light of the instruction and inspiration of the Word of God, 
which we can only truly do with the help and aid of the Holy Spirit. 

“ . . . In a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit… and you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes upon you, and you shall be my witnesses in Jerusalem, Judea, Samaria, and outermost parts of the world.” When the Holy Spirit came, he was going to empower the believers to be witnesses of the hope and joy of the Gospel—first to those around them (their Jerusalem), then to a broader audience (Judea), even to those they did not like (Samaria) and to the far flung towns in surrounding countries and beyond (the outermost parts of the world). Because of the Roman Empire and the Pax Romana, highways and roads had been built, there was access and ability where to travel and share the gospel. 

“You shall be my witnesses, Jesus said. Simply, the apostles were going to tell what they had seen and heard, as that’s what witnesses do, right? Witnesses just share their experience(s) with others. 
And the fact is, 
no one can deny the unique experience of a witness. 
No one can tell you or me that what we experienced was not real or valid. That is the power of testimony. But though their testimony would be compelling, when the Holy Spirit came, the message would be empowered, anointed. So Jesus told them to wait for him. 

Read the passage: https://www.biblegateway.com/passage/?search=Acts+1.1-8&version...;

So, what’s your story? How has putting your trust in God changed you, changed your life? Because in truth, if you and I have entrusted ourselves to him, our story cannot help but be powerful. And that is what Jesus said it would be – but sometimes our story involves waiting, (okay it almost always involves some kind of waiting), and while waiting is the hardest part, it is always part of our story. 

Grace and Peace to you, 

Christine 

PastorWoman.com

1 – “The Waiting” Tom Petty, Youtube. http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=uMyCa35_mOg ;
2 - Psalm 40.1 
3 – Isaiah 40.31