By Angie Benjamin
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.- Acts 1:4 NIV (emphasis mine)
In this verse, Jesus told his disciples to wait for what the Father promised them. He was referring to the POWER they would receive "when the Holy Spirit has come upon you". (Acts 1.8): In other words Jesus was saying " Do not try to do any mighty works until you have received the power from High"
Waiting for God is hard for us to do. We have so much energy and zeal in our flesh, that even when we get to wait , it's mostly a pause for short periods of time and then the energy of our flesh takes over again.
When God doesn't do something as quickly as we want Him to do, then our bright ideas overtake us again...we just want to "help God". But we always cover the same ground, we may make some progress but then we become impatient and lose it!
We come to a point in wish we realize when have come to the end of ourselves, where we have tried "this" and "that" and everything we can possibly think of...only to realize we cannot do what needs to be done by ourselves. We need God We need His Power. So let us do what the apostles did in acts 1:13-14....
Go to the Upper Room
Acts 1:13-14 New King James Version (NKJV)
13 And when they had entered, they went up into the upper room where they were staying: Peter, James, John, and Andrew; Philip and Thomas; Bartholomew and Matthew; James the son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot; and Judas the son of James. 14 These all continued with one accord in prayer and supplication,[a] with the women and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers.
They went in there saying "We cannot do all that God wants us to do without his FULL POWER in our lives. Like those who entered in the Upper Room to wait for the promised outpouring of the Holy Spirit, we should approach God with an attitude that says "I am waiting on You, Lord, Until I receive power from on High"
At the end, that's God desire for our lives "But you shall receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you shall be witnesses to Me" Acts 1:8.
God desires for us to be powerful and live and enjoy power-packed lives- lives that include victory over satan and all of his wicked plots and schemes. God's deepest desire for each of us is to become like Christ in our thoughts, attitudes, words and deeds.
The Holy Spirit is the enabling power of God, and when He comes into our lives we become more powerful.
The power of the Holy Spirit enables us to be what God wants us to be.
We often make the mistake of being very concerned with what is happening around us, with our circumstances rather than what is happening in our hearts.
God is more interested in changing us than changing our circumstances.
Jesus encouragement to the apostles on vs 4. was not only for His disciples but it's a truth that applies to us today.
Let us "actively" wait for the promises of God by listening for what He is telling us to do, instead of running ahead of God and doing something in the flesh.
Let us wait for the Word of God and for His Promises.
Let us be willing to wait indefinitely for God-as long as it takes...
Let us go invite the Lord to have His way in us and our lives, to experience and increase of the Holy Spirit's power!
Until next time, have a blessed weekend
Angie x