What Do You Do When God Invites You To Wait?

God invites us to wait.

It’s perhaps not our natural tendency—especially when decisions need to be made, action needs to be taken—urgency and seeming priorities clamor for forward motion.

Yet in the midst of this, sometimes, we are invited to WAIT.

What might that invitation actually mean?

• At a streetlight, pedestrians are told to “wait” rather than walk. It would be dangerous to enter an intersection into oncoming traffic. A pause will not change direction or thwart the outcome…. Waiting simply protects us from danger.
  
  
• Also, we use the metaphor of a “lady in waiting”... when pregnant, there’s TONS of action going on—but the mother does precious little to cause or sequence or organize it. She must wait.
  
  
• In Scripture, many times the words “wait”, "hope", and “trust” are used interchangeably.  (See Isaiah 40:31 in NIV, NRSV, & CEV) This implies that there is a kind of waiting that is about acknowledging God’s provision, anchoring our dependence on God, trusting and resting our confidence in God.
  
  
• And in Acts 1, the disciples are instructed to wait—so that they can be properly equipped for the journey ahead.
  

Here are a few reflection questions to accompany you in this sometimes difficult-to-receive invitation to WAIT. 

As you reflect today, we pray you'll be filled with fresh grace to wait and hope and trust:

• What is your reaction to the idea of waiting?
  
  
• Have you been waiting for a long time for something? What is it?
  
  
• Do you resist the idea of waiting?
  
  
• In what circumstances specifically are you waiting on God?
  
  
• Might there be an invitation for you today into a new way of waiting?

Finally, as we enter the final months of 2022, look ahead: what are some great hopes you have for these next two months? How might waiting play into your posture moving forward?

Take a few minutes to read prayerfully through Jesus's words in Acts 1. Listen to the whisper of the Spirit for you, for today: 

Acts 1:4-8

 “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”

Then they gathered around him and asked him, “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?”

He said to them: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

What stands out to you? Re-read these words now... slowly. Quietly. Listening. What might God be saying to you, now?

Write them down, talk with God about them. Spend time reading this passage, and pay attention to what He might be highlighting.

May you experience fresh grace to wait and hope with Him.

Alongside,
Team Soul Care