Wait

Wait. A word I have heard over and over again. The District Superintendent of the Missouri District Church of the Nazarene talked about waiting on the Lord. I heard my pastor mention that word. Just last Wednesday I heard that word in a message I will never forget. It was a small message in length but God was speaking through this guy that night. Without a youth pastor we have been having what is called "Wednesday Night Live" led by our pastor. But since pastor could not be there last Wednesday somebody else spoke. The guy who spoke has earned my respect in the three or four years I have known him. God used him to speak to me that night. He compared our youth group's situation to the disciple's situation in Acts. For instance, he compared how the early church was without a designated leader such as our youth group was without a youth pastor. He showed how both we and the disciples were both challenged with the impossible task of going into all the world and preaching the gospel. But what did the disciples do? They waited as they were commanded to by Jesus. ("Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised which you have heard me speak about.") The disciples waited and the Holy Spirit came upon them. They were speaking in tongues and people from all over who had come for the Day of Pentecost heard them in their own language. With the Holy Spirit working within the disciples, the task was not impossible anymore. Our speaker challenged us to wait for the Lord.
Now that I think about it there are many times in the Bible where people had to wait for the Lord. Noah had to wait 40 days in a big boat with stinky animals who probably pooped all over his boat. Abraham had to wait multiple times for the Lord. Joseph waited in prison. The Israelites waited for years in slavery plus 40 more wandering in the desert. Esther waited. David waited. Job waited. Daniel waited. Jesus even waited. How we wait is another important thing. The disciples stayed in Jerusalem as they were commanded and prayed. If you look back. You would find that these famous Bible characters didn't just sit around doing nothing. They were praying and seeking God's will. To me, stopping and listening to God should be a big part of waiting. (Here is where I might get slightly blunt.) Today, I don't see people waiting for God's guidance. A lot of us are definitely guilty of that. Definitely me. We are seeing churches who are being infected with all sorts of worldviews. Christians are accepting some things because the world says it is okay. Large denominations of churches are beginning to be drawn into the world. I believe that is because we are going in blind. We are going into the world to preach the gospel by ourselves. We aren't waiting and we aren't letting God carry us through. Without God guiding us and working in us, we may blindly walk into a trap. God wants us to go into the streets, He wants us to show his love and compassion to EVERYONE, but without Him inside of us, guiding us, we will lose our focus and fall.
Wait. Listen. Talk with Him. He has a plan far beyond the highest point of our imagination. His foolishness, His weakness, is stonger than our wisom and strength. He will show you what He wants you to do. Wait. Don't go into the battle alone. He is here. He is with you and me right now. He wants to talk with you. Listen.

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord. Be strong, take heart and wait for the Lord."