“Wait on the Lord; be of good
courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord.”—Psalm
27:14
Are you currently waiting for the
Lord to intervene in some way in your life, or in the life of a loved one? One of the struggles we face as Christians is
trying to understand sometimes there are delays over matters that seem so
urgent to us. Only the Lord knows all of the reasons. However, there are some lessons that we can
learn from when Peter and John were arrested and put into jail.
Peter
and John were arrested and jailed because they preached in the name of Jesus,
the resurrection from the dead, and people were being healed. When they were brought up before the
authorities they refused to compromise and would not cease to give their
testimony. They were threatened and released. Peter and John returned to the people that
they were with, and then began to worship and praise God. The place was shaken where they were all
gathered and they spoke the Word of God with boldness (Acts 4:1-31).
The first lesson is: Determine Your Focus. In the urgency of the
moment, it is easy to center your attention on the need instead of on God. Peter and John remained focused on their
message, not on getting out of jail. We
may start out waiting for the Lord, but end up waiting for the answer we
want. Soon we become more interest in
what God can do for us, rather than our focus remaining in Him. Sometimes God delays until we get our focus
back on Him. He wants us to delight in
Him; not in just what He can give to us.
Secondly, Release Your Expectations into His Hands.
Peter and John said, “Whether it
is right in the sight of God to listen to you more than to God, you judge. Fore
we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard” (Acts
4:19-20). The Lord is working on
your behalf, but sometimes we cling so tightly to a desired outcome that He
must wait until we open our hands and let go of our own expectations. Holding onto your own assumptions about how
the Lord should intervene is emotionally exhausting. But peace awaits those who trust that He will
do what is in our best interests in every situation that we encounter.
Prayer—Father
I thank you that I keep my focus upon You and I release my desire into Your
hands as I wait for the answer, in Jesus’ Name. Amen.
