I don’t know about you, but I am terrible at waiting. In this truly unique season, that fact has been made pretty clear, to me at least. Even though I stink at waiting, it is impossible to ignore the biblical principle of waiting. The Psalms alone are filled with verses that express waiting on the Lord. In Acts, Jesus commanded the early church to wait until the Holy Spirit arrived. But how do we know when the wait is over? What are we waiting on the Lord to do?
You may be asking yourself, What am I waiting on exactly? Here are three things we should wait on.
1. Clarity of vision and direction given by the Spirit
God is not a God of confusion. He brings clarity. One of the most common phrases that I’ve uttered in this season is, “I don’t know.” If we are seeking the Lord in prayer and we still don’t know what to do, then we wait. James 1:5-8, instructs us to ask the Lord for wisdom and not to be double-minded in asking because God is the source of wisdom. Wisdom brings clarity. Wisdom is taking knowledge and information and knowing what to do with it. The Spirit of God knows the mind and wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 2:10-13). Ask the Spirit of God to give you the mind and wisdom of God to bring clarity of what to do and when to do it. Wait until you have clarity of vision. If you don’t know how to clearly articulate the purpose of the activity, then you are not ready.
2. Unity among believers filled with the Spirit
If it is a true movement of the Spirit, then there will be unity. Ephesians 4:3 compels us to be eager for maintaining unity of the Spirit. This implies that where the Spirit is, there is unity among God’s people. Seek unity among church leaders and members. You can never have too much unity. Unity doesn’t necessarily mean that we will agree on every detail. Paul and Barnabas disagreed on what to do with Mark in Acts 15. They did, however, agree that the Lord was calling them to fulfill His mission in two different ways. They disagreed with unity. When God moves, the unity is evident and overwhelming. Wait until you have unity.
3. Passion and boldness by the Spirit to move forward in faith
When a clear vision comes that brings unity among the believers it results in passion and boldness of action. The people of God are compelled to act. No arm-twisting involved. As a leader, you don’t need to drag anyone into your vision. In Acts 10:44-48, we see this play out. The Holy Spirit falls on the Gentiles in such a clear way that the other believers who were with Peter were unified in what to do next. This act of baptizing Gentiles might seem simple to us now, but to them it was radical. Peter and these other believers could have been chastised by the elders in Jerusalem for this act. What swelled in them in that moment was a passion and boldness to live faithful lives unto the Lord. They were not worried about pleasing anyone else except the Lord. Wait until the passion of your people for action is evident.
The value of waiting is something that I am still learning. Most of us are familiar with making plans and then asking God to bless them. It is much more effective to wait on the Lord to move and prompt your heart and spirit to partner with Him in the work that He is doing. May we be faithful in waiting.
Ben Neiser is the Collegiate Network Coordinator for the Utah/Idaho Southern Baptist Convention. He has served in collegiate ministry for 11 years. Ben has a M.A. in Christian Studies from Southeastern Baptist Theological Seminary. Ben and his wife, Lindsey, live in Provo, UT with their two daughters, Ella and Clara.
Photo by Kai Pilger on Unsplash
