You’re reading ACTS: LESSONS IN FAITH, by Eric Elder, featuring thirty inspiring devotionals based on the lives of the very first followers of Christ. Also available in paperback and eBook formats in our bookstore for a donation of any size!

Scripture Reading: Acts 1

I think it’s ironic, but fitting, that the very first thing Jesus tells His disciples to do in the book of Acts isn’t an “act” at all.  He tells them to “wait.”

“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. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit’ ” (Acts 1:4-5). 

Wait.  Wait for the gift of the Holy Spirit.  You see, without God, what’s the point of going on?  If God’s called you to wait, waiting can be just as much an act of faith as doing.  And not waiting can be your downfall.

When God promised to give Abraham many descendants, Abraham got impatient and got his wife’s servant girl pregnant instead.  God said that their child Ishmael would have descendants galore, but that he would always be in hostility towards his brothers.  When Abraham and his wife eventually had a child of their own, God blessed that child, Isaac, with many descendants, too.  But unfortunately, the hostility between those two brothers has carried on for generations, even to this day, as present-day Muslims claim Ishmael as their forefather and present-day Jews claim Isaac as theirs.

God honors His promises, but there’s a price to pay for not waiting.

It’s hard to wait, I know.  But I want to encourage you today, if God’s called you to wait, wait.

I remember one of the times when I was waiting on God.  I felt that God had called me to go to Israel.  Even though I didn’t know why, but I sensed it was important, so I went.  After a few days of looking around Jerusalem, I began to wonder if God was ever going to show up at all.  What was I waiting for anyway?

As I laid on my bed, I read this verse from Psalm 27:14:

“Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” 

But I read it in the Amplified Bible, which gives even more detail about what the Hebrew and Greek words in the Bible mean.  I love the way the Amplified Bible puts it:

“Wait and hope for and expect the Lord; be brave and of good courage and let your heart be stout and enduring. Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord” (Psalm 27:14, AMP).  

It changed my whole perspective.  Instead of waiting idly and wondering if God would ever show up, I began to look forward to what God was going to do.  The next day, God did show up in a powerful way.  I met a pastor on the temple mount who was also visiting in Israel.  He prayed for me that day, anointed me with oil, and spoke a prophetic word over me about my future life and ministry, including much of what I’m doing today.

The difference between waiting idly and waiting expectantly is the difference between sitting at home alone, wondering if anyone’s ever going to stop by, and sitting at home, waiting for the most important person in your life to walk through that door at any minute, because they called ahead and told you they were on their way.

If you’re not convinced that it’s worth it to wait, here are a few benefits of waiting: You’ll sleep better, feel better, think clearer.  You’ll be more content, less frustrated, kinder, gentler, more patient, more gracious.  You’ll grow stronger, live longer, stand firmer.  Here’s how the Bible puts it in Isaiah 40:31:

“But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31, KJV). 

If God’s called you to wait, wait.  Wait for the Lord. “Yes, wait for and hope for and expect the Lord” (Psalm 27:14, AMP).

Prayer: Father, help me to wait on you with expectancy, looking forward to what You’re going to do at the end of the wait. In Jesus’ name, Amen.