How Well Do We Wait?

Let me ask you a question: How well do you wait?  I openly admit that I am impatient and don't like waiting (ask my Bride).  I'm that guy who gets behind the one person in line who has a million questions or simply wants to chat.  If I have an appointment, I will show up early simply because that's how I was brought up ("better early than late, especially for dinner").  Having said all that, I will say that I am still learning.  

We don't like to wait, do we?  There's something about the whole process of waiting that grates on our nerves.  And guess what? Our impatience is a trick of the enemy into focusing on us and our time, instead of making good use of that time.  One of the things I am learning to do when waiting is reading.  Everyone has a cellphone and if you have the Kindle app on your phone you can read books that will increase your knowledge.  One of the books I am re-reading is called "Three Free Sins" by Steve Brown.

Speaking of waiting, did you know that Jesus spent "40 days and 40 nights" before He began the ministry assigned Him by Abba.  Now the actual phrase "40 days and 40 nights" quite literally means "as long as it takes." Jesus stayed in the wilderness for as long as it took for Him to be truly prepared for His ministry.

The Apostle Paul spent three years in the Arabian desert preparing for the ministry Abba has given him. That's quite a long time!

In Acts 1:4-5, after Jesus was crucified, He appeared to the Disciples and told them:

[Jesus] commanded them, “Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” They had to wait until Abba sent His Holy Spirit to them.  Why? Because Jesus knew if their ministry was not led by Abba's Holy Spirit it would be a powerless effort and would fail because it would be of the flesh instead of the Holy Spirit.

Here's a lesson I got out of reading and contemplating on the passage...We need to meet with Jesus and we need to be quiet and we need to wait!  We need to be still to see where the Spirit is leading.  The best way I am learning to be still and quiet is by studying, reading, writing, learning.  As we wait, we need to talk with Abba.  Tell Him exactly what's on our heart. Be frank and blunt with Him.  Waiting shouldn't be a boring waste of time, it should be time where we are actively preparing our minds and hearts before Abba.