November 13, Acts 1
My eleven-year-old daughter hugged me in the airport concourse and cried, “I know I will never see you again.” It was my first time (in her lifetime) to go away on a foreign mission trip. I was back home in three weeks, and she got used to my travels. But as children have a way of doing, she turned the tables on me. As she boarded a plane to go to Europe with her high school friends, I had a similar sense of dread about watching her fly away. When she left for college, we watched her little car until it was out of sight, and we cried. It was the same when her
sister went to college. And after they left the wedding receptions with their husbands, we were happy for them and sad for us. We knew those departures were coming, but we still felt lonely when they came.
Have you stood at the big windows and watched a plane take off with your loved one on board— watched it climb, shrink to a tiny dot and finally disappear? Then maybe you can understand how the apostles felt as they watched Jesus rise into the heavens. With their necks bent and faces skyward, Jesus disappeared from their vision. Two angels assured them he would be back, returning as he left, just as he promised.
So the apostles went back to Jerusalem to wait and pray with about 120 of Jesus’ followers. Jesus was no longer physically present with them. They did not know what lay ahead. But he told them to wait and they did.
We’re all in the “waiting room” about something, aren’t we? From kids waiting to grow up to old folks waiting to go home, each life has seasons of waiting. We enjoy some of the promises God has made here and now, but for others, we’re waiting.
That little nucleus of disciples in Jerusalem models some significant characteristics of God’s people who are waiting. First, they were together as they waited. They scattered when Jesus was crucified, but now they were back together. They weren’t divided into factions or trying to go it alone. We need company while we wait.
They were praying as they waited. They knew their future was in God’s hands. The mission would be impossible without God’s help. They had to rely on God. Do your prayers show your dependence on God? Would someone watching you through a typical day see you appeal to God for help and guidance?
They obeyed instructions they had been given as they waited. They were told to stay, and they stayed. Obedience is the natural fruit of trust. We may say we trust him, but our obedience shows we really do. Disobedience equals distrust—rejecting God’s counsel, preferring our own. As you wait for God to keep his promises, you keep his commands. Your obedience does not earn God’s favor, but it does demonstrate your love and trust.
From The Abiding Companion: A Friendly Guide for Your Journey Through the New Testament,
Copyright © 2010 by Michael B. McElroy. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Today in God's Word—November 2023
East Tallassee Church of Christ
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