While We Wait

Acts 1:12-26

12 Then they returned to Jerusalem from the mountain called Olivet, which is near Jerusalem, a Sabbath day’s journey away. 13 When they had entered the city, they went up to the upstairs room where they were staying, that is, Peter, John, James, and Andrew, Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, Simon the Zealot, and Judas the son of James. 14 All these were continually devoting themselves with one mind to prayer, along with the women, and Mary the mother of Jesus, and with His brothers. 15 At this time Peter stood up among the brothers and sisters (a group of about 120 people was there together), and said, 16 Brothers, the Scripture had to be fulfilled, which the Holy Spirit foretold by the mouth of David concerning Judas, who became a guide to those who arrested Jesus. 17 For he was counted among us and received his share in this ministry.” 18 (Now this man acquired a field with the price of his wickedness, and falling headlong, he burst open in the middle and all his intestines gushed out. 19 And it became known to all the residents of Jerusalem; as a result that field was called Hakeldama in their own language, that is, Field of Blood.) 20 “For it is written in the book of Psalms: ‘MAY HIS RESIDENCE BE MADE DESOLATE, AND MAY THERE BE NONE LIVING IN IT’; and, MAY ANOTHER TAKE HIS OFFICE.’ 21 Therefore it is necessary that of the men who have accompanied us all the time that the Lord Jesus went in and out among us— 22 beginning with the baptism of John until the day that He was taken up from us—one of these must become a witness with us of His resurrection.” 23 So they put forward two men, Joseph called Barsabbas (who was also called Justus), and Matthias. 24 And they prayed and said, “You, Lord, who know the hearts of all people, show which one of these two You have chosen 25 to occupy this ministry and apostleship from which Judas turned aside to go to his own place.” 26 And they drew lots for them, and the lot fell to Matthias; and he was added to the eleven apostles.

There are two things I could see throughout this passage:

1. God’s concealed will

2. God’s revealed will

1. God’s concealed will

What do I mean by God’s concealed will? It is the secret things that belong to God that He has planned for our lives. He doesn’t make them known right away but they become known as we seek His kingdom and His righteous. Before Jesus ascended, He told the disciples to go back to Jerusalem and wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit. When Jesus left, He didn’t map out a three-year strategic plan. What He did tell them is that they would be witnesses in their own town, the surrounding region, to the ends of the world. He commissioned them to tell people about Himself and that they would receive the power and ability from the Holy Spirit to do so. What He didn’t tell them was how they were going to do it, what it would look like to be a witness or exactly when this would happen. They kept asking Jesus if He would be reestablishing the kingdom now, but He was saying to them - that’s not your concern for now, your focus should be on telling others about Me until that day. All He told them to do at this point was to wait for the Holy Spirit to empower them but didn’t even tell them what to do while they waited.

Here is my question for us: How good are we at waiting? Let’s take this into practical every day terms. Think about how good you are at waiting in a grocery line (trying to estimate which line is shorter and almost always ending up in the longer line). Waiting at the doctor’s office, in traffic, for someone to respond to our text or phone call? David Maister, who studied the psychology of waiting made the following observations:

• Unoccupied time feels much longer than occupied time,

• Anxiety makes waiting seem longer,

• The more valuable the service, the longer we are willing to wait (we’re more willing to stand in line longer to buy an iPad than to buy a toothbrush),

• Waiting by yourself feels longer than waiting with others.

There are, however, more serious, and difficult kinds of waiting when it comes to asking God for what remains concealed. It could be a single person waiting on God for a marriage partner when it doesn’t look like there is an answer in sight. It could be a childless couple who really wants to start a family waiting on God in prayer but day after day, week after week, it seems their prayers remain unanswered. It could be the person waiting for the perfect job, one that’s meaningful and where they can make an impact, but each job opportunity is like a dead end. There is the person who is waiting for God to show them His plan for their life but it seems like it is a concealed mystery.