What to do while you wait 

May 25, 2025 

It’s human nature to avoid what we don’t like: when my oldest kid was a toddler, he would eat peas. He would put a pea in his mouth. It would sit in his mouth for a little while, then he would spit out the skin! He avoided eating pea skins. Some kids avoid eating vegetables. When you grow up, you may avoid exercise. But there’s some things you don’t like that you can’t avoid, like waiting. Don’t you hate sitting in backed up traffic? Even when anticipating something good, did you ever say, “I can’t wait?” You’re looking forward to something, “I can’t wait!” Like waiting is an enemy, keeping us from the good stuff! Or there’s waiting that feels bad, like you get laid off, and don’t know if or when you’ll go back to work. It’s hard to wait! 

But what can you do? Waiting is part of life. So, what do you do while you wait? Today we’ll talk about time when Jesus’ disciples had to wait. They had been through a lot! Jesus, their teacher, was arrested, crucified, and died. They didn’t see that coming! They were heartbroken, devastated, and terrified! Three days later, they expected Jesus to stay dead. But He did what they never thought he would do! Jesus rose from the dead! He came back! Jesus was with them! And just as they were getting used to the joy they felt about Jesus rising, something else happened! Jesus’ ascension. In our Apostle’s Creed we say Jesus “ascended into heaven and is seated at the right hand of God the Father almighty.” Jesus told his followers to wait for what God promised. And then he left them! 

Here’s how it happened. Acts of the Apostles chapter 1 says the risen Jesus appeared a number of times to his disciples. Then one time, while Jesus is eating with them, he commands them, “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about. ⁵For John baptized with water, but in a few days, you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” 

They had a lot of questions, but the question they ask Jesus is: “Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?” They are hoping Jesus is going to start a battle against the Roman authorities and throw off Roman rule. But that’s not going to happen. 

Jesus responds saying, “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority. ⁸But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” 

Jesus is not going to give them a date or time. How much longer do they need to wait? Jesus can’t say. But they will receive the Holy Spirit. 

After Jesus says this, he is taken up into the sky, he rises up in the air, and then a cloud hides him from their sight! Just like that, he’s gone! Where did he go? The disciples stand there looking up at the sky. Suddenly two men dressed in white say to them, “Why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come back in the same way you have seen him go into heaven.” 

Jesus has gone to heaven! All they can do is wait! They decide to do as instructed. They walk to Jerusalem to the Mount of Olives. There were 11 disciples: Peter, John, James and Andrew; Philip and Thomas, Bartholomew and Matthew; James son of Alphaeus and Simon the Zealot, and Judas son of James. Also, women, and Jesus’ mother Mary, and Jesus’ brothers. Verse 14 tells what they did while they waited: They all joined together constantly in prayer. 

They waited together, constantly in prayer! It wasn’t easy to be them: they didn’t understand what was ahead of them! Maybe they’re afraid of being killed. The Jewish religious leaders hated anybody who talked about Jesus. The Roman leaders put Jesus to death, so what would they do to his followers? The disciples must have wondered, what was Jesus talking about: receiving power by the Holy Spirit and witnessing to the ends of the earth?  

Why did Jesus tell them to wait? Jesus is God! He could just send the Holy Spirit down now and they could get spirit baptized and start witnessing right away! Why did they have to wait? Jesus is demonstrating that the disciples are not in charge. God is! God will do what He will do when He decides to, not because the disciples are tired of waiting.  

The disciples waited together, constantly in prayer! They can teach us something! They didn’t go off by themselves to pray. There’s power in being with other Christians when you’re waiting for God!  

But also, they didn’t constantly discuss with each other, what do you think is going to happen? And when do you think it will happen? Their job wasn’t to know the future. It was to wait! They did a great job of waiting! They were all together and ready when the day of Pentecost arrived and the Holy spirit came! (We’ll talk about that on June 8!) 

Have you ever met someone who waited well in a difficult time? Someone who faced trials of any kind and they walked with extraordinary confidence in God? I have. I’ve known many people like that! I’m so inspired by people whose faith is tested and endures. They are the most inspiring, hope giving, faith giving people I’ve met! 

You’re inspired by them too, right? The people whose prayers go unanswered, but their confidence in God remains firm. I am so impressed by how many people, when they come to the end of their life and know they are going to die, get to the point that they accept it! They’re at peace. And they start to be more concerned about their family than they are about themselves.  

Back when Jesus went to the cross, the disciples didn’t show much faith! They got scared and ran for their lives! But now Jesus is risen, and he tells them to wait, wait for what God is going to do. This time the disciples show they have the right stuff. They wait and pray like crazy. They want to be different; they want to be followers of God. 

I don’t like waiting, and I don’t like difficult times. But I do want to be the kind of person who has confidence in God, ALL the time. I want to be someone who trusts God in the worst times. I want to be like the inspiring people I see! Don’t you want to have deep faith in God? 

The way to do it is to get with God. Can you pray constantly? Well how about praying consistently? As you read some Scripture every day, and you can ask yourself “How will I be different because of what I’ve just read?” You can ask God, “Help me be a person who always trusts that you’ve got me, whether it’s good times, or bad times.” That’s my homework for you, to look at the reading from today, Acts 1:1-11, and ask yourself, “How will I be different today because of what I’ve just read?” 

It’s hard to wait, and it’s hard to trust God in difficult times. After Jesus ascended to heaven, his followers excelled at waiting for and trusting in God! It was a skill they got better at! We can grow in faith and trust in God, too! There are times when we have to wait. These difficult waiting times are a training ground for growing our confidence that God is going to take care of us, in any and all circumstances! Amen.