By: Svetlana Papazov
Story
Recently I took a trip to Grand Rapids, Michigan for a conference. I am the type of person who has most of their days planned, so before the conference I already had three meetings scheduled with colleagues and friends. Here I am, arriving early to insure I will not miss my flight, only to find that the location of my connecting flight would not receive our plane because of storms in the area.
So for about two hours we sat on the plane, with nothing to do, waiting for clearance to take off.
Q1: How do you feel waiting?
Whether it be waiting in line at the grocery store, waiting for the bus to come, waiting at the DMV, waiting for the test results from the doctor’s office, waiting for the right person to marry, waiting to grow up, waiting to get to college, waiting to retire?
If we are honest, most of us will admit that we don’t like to wait. We like to plunge into action. Everyone gets excited about a new endeavor; going somewhere, achieving something.
This reminds me of the time when Jesus was about to be taken away from this earth. He told his disciples to go make disciples and yet to wait and not go. He tells them to go do, go achieve, but before they can do anything of eternal significance, they needed to do one of the least favorite things for humans: Wait.
Read Acts 1:4-5
Q2: Why do you think Jesus said to go but also to wait?
In order to be empowered to witness, the newly commissioned disciples, turned apostles, needed to wait, an abiding posture in life, so God will fill them with His Holy Spirit.
They needed to learn the most important life skill: waiting.
Not just sitting aimlessly, but intentionally preparing their hearts for the infilling with the Holy Spirit, because the Holy Spirit was going to be the game changer for them.
Learning to wait on the infilling with the Holy Spirit was and is the most important posture believers achieve in life: an abiding posture to receive all that the Father ever promises and to learn never to go after things in life without waiting on the Holy Spirit’s infilling.
For what the Father promises he provides and provisions.
He didn’t tell them how long it will take them to wait, they simply needed to prepare their hearts for the receiving of the Holy Spirit and to be willing to stay in a state of expectancy.
John records this account of Jesus talking about the Holy Spirit: Jesus says, "Abide in me to bear much fruit."
Stay in a state of expectancy by hanging around Jesus with the expectation that He’ll decree daily your daily bread, which is not just your physical sustenance, but your mental food you chew on hour upon hour.
We cannot produce fruit of eternal value without the empowerment of God’s eternal Holy Spirit.
Reflection: Will you prayerfully hang around Jesus this week in a state of expectancy to be filled with the Holy Spirit?
Prayer: God I pray for patience over our readers today sitting in their waiting season. I pray for your presence to wash over them. That they would feel you as they are waiting on the promises you have given them. Amen.
Svetlana Papazov is Lead Pastor and Founder of Real Life Church, President/Founder of Real Life Center for Entrepreneurial and Leadership Excellence, a first of its kind model of church and business incubator that educates in entrepreneurship, leadership and faith praxis, and author of the book, “Church for Monday.”