In the State of Wait

“Here, hold this and wait right here. I’ll be back.”
My children would often hear these words as a whisper, when subtlety was required, or nigh on to hollering in order to be heard over their grumbles. Either way, my point was made: I have a plan and you need to help.
 The irony was I could have easily achieved my goal without their help. But I chose to invite them into my enterprise so that with my guidance and direction they would be able to replicate the tasks at hand. Making brownies was an easy draw for a volunteer, as the batter clean-up (i.e. licking the spoon) was a sweet built-in reward.  
Larger jobs weren’t as easy to sell, so my asking would come with a promise, “Trust me. It will make sense when we’re finished.” It’s fun to watch a child size you up and decide if you can deliver on your promises.
Head cocked to one side. Squinty-eyed glare. Shoulder shrug. “Okay. What do I do?’
Ah, somethings we never outgrow.
When the risen Christ appeared to His disciples, spent 40 days with them and spoke of the things concerning the kingdom of God, I’m sure His followers were beside themselves with relief and joy. Their leader had beaten death and the grave to finally lead them into His victorious kingdom.
Acts 1:4 “Gathering them together, He [Jesus] commanded them not to leave Jerusalem, but to wait for what the Father had promised, ‘Which,’ He said, ‘you heard of from Me.’”
Okay, great! For how long did you say, Jesus? None of my business? Ah. My business is to wait for it.
What is ‘it’?
Power.
Holy Spirit.
Being His Witness to this place, the neighbors I don’t really like, and …the WORLD?! Woah……..
This time, Jesus would REALLY be gone; received into the clouds. Genuine goodbyes were said. Life as the disciples had known it for the past three years was over. Their future looked about as clear as the cloud Jesus just disappeared into. What was the next step?
Jesus promised good things to those who waited at Jerusalem, so Jesus’ followers’ next step was simple: they returned to the place where they had last gathered together and “continually devoted themselves to prayer.”
In their wildest imaginings they couldn’t have seen what God had prepared for them when the Holy Spirit visited the upper room. There was no knowing how God would speak through them and who would receive their ministrations of His grace.
There was only the waiting for it, because Jesus told them to.
There was only the praying continually for it, because that’s what they had seen Jesus do in His ministry.
And there was the crazy calm trust in God that kept them obedient in that next step.
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So, what are you waiting for Jesus to do in your life? Do you trust Him? Are you praying continually, seeking His face, not just reciting a mantra or locking yourself into a preconception of how everything should turn out? 

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