On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “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.

–Parallel verses:
‭‭John‬ ‭1‬:‭23‬-‭27‬
John replied in the words of Isaiah the prophet, “I am the voice of one calling in the wilderness, ‘Make straight the way for the Lord.’ ” Now the Pharisees who had been sent questioned him, “Why then do you baptize if you are not the Messiah, nor Elijah, nor the Prophet?” “I baptize with water,” John replied, “but among you stands one you do not know. He is the one who comes after me, the straps of whose sandals I am not worthy to untie.”

On vacations I like to explore, my wife likes to relax. I like to eat fast and wake up early so we can pack in a day of adventures. She likes to sleep in, eat late, and maybe she might check something out after lunch. So we plan days that each of us enjoys and the other one chooses to enjoy.

When we went to Cancun for our 20th anniversary, she went along deep-sea fishing with me, though she felt sick the whole time. I caught a couple of Mahi Mahi! And I went to nice brunches and dinners with her that had dainty little desserts she liked too. So you could say we are a married couple of relaxing action!

Life with Jesus can involve a lot of waiting at times. In a possible move full of literary irony, the author, after naming the book “Acts”, first records Jesus’ command to his disciples to “wait”. He said: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the filling of the Holy Spirit.” For these Christ followers, staying in Jerusalem could have been dangerous, since the Jewish leaders who ruled and crucified Jesus were in power there.

Since I am more of a man of action, I find waiting on God to be excruciatingly hard, at times. But I am finding there is a lot of growth in waiting for God. He meets us in the waiting and we have to trust him more.

John the Baptist had a job to do as a front-runner for Jesus. He preached the word of God, called for repentance from sin and baptized. His baptism was one of repentance. He knew Jesus, but was not able to see him risen again on earth. He died earlier. God had directed him to call out Herod on living a lie, as he had taken the wife of his brother. This cost John his life. But it was God’s timing.

Jesus now presents a new baptism, one of the Holy Spirit and of new life! But they had to stay put and wait for it.

When God moves, he calls us to be ready to move with him. When he waits, we wait with him, though all inside us may cry out that the current situation is dangerous or unbearable. “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” (‭‭Psalms‬ ‭27‬:‭13‬-‭14‬)

Lord, thank you for this time of waiting in my life. You are teaching me to let you lead in all things. I am ready, Lord, but I will patiently wait for your timing and your plan to move on. Thank you for the confidence I have in you to be loving and just!