January 10, 2023 | Be On Mission
Wait For Holy Spirit Baptism
Scripture: Acts 1:4-5 (NIV)
4 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. 5 For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.”
Devotional
Three years earlier, Jesus began His earthly ministry by being baptized by His cousin, John the Baptist. When Jesus emerged from the water, the Holy Spirit came upon Him and a voice boomed from heaven: “You are my Son, whom I love; with you I am well pleased” (Luke 3:22). Then, Jesus went on to have a Spirit empowered ministry filled with miracles and messages from God.
Now, the resurrected Jesus is promising the same to His disciples. They had just witnessed the crucifixion and resurrection. They weren’t sure what to do next. So, Jesus gave them one word.
Wait.
Specifically, Jesus said, “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.” Sometimes God wants us to take action. Sometimes He wants us to wait.
But this waiting wasn’t an excuse for doing nothing. It was waiting with intentionality. It was waiting with purpose. It was waiting with expectation. It was waiting for the Holy Spirit to empower them for action.
Think about it. What are you waiting for from God? As you begin this year, what are you hoping for from the Lord? How will you seek it?
Poem
Perimeno—To Wait For Acts 1: 4
There’s waiting at the stoplight
There’s waiting for the bus
We wait in doctor’s offices
We wait while children fuss
There’s waiting for the phone call
From blind date overdue
We wait for diagnoses
For big deals to come through
We wait to have a menstrual flow
A bullet dodged and missed
We wait to skip a period
A baby to exist
There’s frantic waiting—rescue
There’s weary waiting—death
There’s waiting for what never comes
There’s holding of one’s breath
We worry in our waiting
We find some tasks to do
We fiddle and we agitate
Might lift a prayer or two
But do we wait upon the LORD
God’s Spirit to ignite?
Or do we wail against the goads
Engage in tantrum fight?
O Spirit, give me patience
Amidst the waiting games
As I await your promises
And all your grace contains
Remove my anxious suffering
And settle me today
Within your Sabbath resting
Be this my waiting Way
