BACK TO THE BASIS (BTTB)
Serial 03.10.24/003
Acts 1:4
And, being assembled together with them, commanded them that they should not depart from Jerusalem, but wait for the promise of the Father, which, saith he, ye have heard of me.
It is Either Patience or Patience
Jesus instructed His disciples to “wait for the promise of the Father…”. The question would normally arise as to why the disciples would need to wait any longer since the task before them has always been extremely urgent and God could just have released the power required so they would step out immediately. For how long would they have to wait again? What would they be doing during that period that would be more important to God than launching them out to begin the work of soul-winning in obedience to the Great Commission already begging for attention? Moreover, what would be the portion of those who might die while they waited for the promised power to launch out?
While there may never be adequate answers to these questions, there is, at least, a lesson.The disciples had to wait for the power they needed to step into their ministry and fulfil a mandate so dear to the heart of God. They needed to wait before reaching out to the souls that Jesus gave His precious life to save. It therefore should not be anything strange for us to have to wait for other perquisites which are no more than mere additions to the real course God is setting before us. Or, put in another way, why should we imagine that God will be more in a hurry to bless our finances and enlarge our coast than He should be in granting the power of the Holy Spirit to the faithful disciples who were already sold out for His cause and were eager to spread the gospel for which He had sacrificed His only begotten Son?
The reason for patience is rooted in the fact that what God will do, when and how He will do it is always different from our narrow permutations. Those who walk with God and seek His involvement in and blessing upon what they do must appreciate the need never to rush ahead of Him whose ‘delays’ have never been any bit late or become a denial. His timeline may seem prolonged or dragging by our hunch but He always arrives on the dot of time. This has application to every expectation we have from God to which we should be hearing “not many days from hence…” because our God is a keeper of time and promise.
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