March 22

“I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high.” —LUKE 24:49

The second reason we have grounds for confidence in the Bible and for taking the Gospel into the world is the testimony of the Holy Spirit. We need the Word of God in our hands and the Spirit of God in our hearts. We should never attempt any work of God without knowing we have the Holy Spirit enabling and directing us.

There are two aspects of Jesus’ instructions in telling His disciples to stay in the city and wait. There is the historic necessity of waiting for the Day of Pentecost when the Holy Spirit would be poured out on all people, and there is also the principle of waiting for the timing of the Holy Spirit as He leads us into the work He is going to do. On the Day of Pentecost, Jewish people came to Jerusalem from all over the Mediterranean world to celebrate. Acts, Chapter 2 lists 60 nationalities present and everyone heard the remarkable works of God in their own language. No doubt, among the 3,000 converted that day, many went back to their homelands with the Gospel on their lips, because the Holy Spirit dwelled in their hearts.

We don’t need to ask God to pour out the Holy Spirit anymore, because He has been poured out once and for all. What we need is to relate to Him in such a way that He will not only indwell us on the basis of our repentance and faith, but also fill us as He lives in us day by day. It is important that we work with the Holy Spirit in His timing, which is very often different from ours. We may think it would have been a good time for a fresh start with the coming of the Messiah after the great flood or when the Israelites arrived in Canaan, but God has His agenda in place. 

We don’t always know what God is doing, but we need to be sensitive to the timing of the Holy Spirit. He is the architect of our witness and the power behind it. Some of us have been praying for years for people in our families. Give God His time. Be patient and know that He is far more concerned about that person than we are. We can’t be halfway out the door and say, “Are You coming, God?” Live everyday grounded in His Word, and trust the timing of His Holy Spirit.

PRAYER: Thank You, God, for faithfully giving the gift of your Holy Spirit to anyone who calls on your name. I pray that He will indwell me richly and deepen our relationship. 

TO REFLECT UPON: Am I waiting upon the Holy Spirit or rushing into my own agendas?