Don't Miss Your Miracle

In Acts 1:4 Jesus lays down a stern "Stay at Home" order to the Apostles when he tells them to stay in Jerusalem until the Father (God) sends the promised gift of the Holy Spirit. Here's the scripture for your reference:

Once when he was eating with them, he commanded them,“Do not leave Jerusalem until the Father sends you the gift he promised, as I told you before. John baptized with[a]water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.” Acts 1:4-5 NLT.

This shelter at home decree came at a very inconvenient time. Christians in Jerusalem were under increasing persecution from many angles, and to top it all off they had just ended their earthly ministry with Jesus. They were faithful but growing uncertain, spiritually strong but in need of rescue. I can imagine if the apostles could rewind back to the day when they left their nets to follow Jesus up until Acts 1:4 they wouldn't have seen this coming at all. The crazy thing is sometimes life can look the same for us. One day we're living our lives and the next day we're on lock down. One day we're booking flights to Florida on Expedia and the next day we're buying $44 dollar rolls of toilet paper on Amazon and making our own hand sanitizer. On a more serious note, some of you were on the verge of a promotion before Covid-19 forced you into a layoff. For others, your dream kitchen was just completed now you may be struggling to buy food to cook on your new countertops. You may be thinking, could this have come at a worse time? You may be wondering how a God that is normally so good can all of a sudden seem so distant. Hang on to hope my friend - God hasn't changed, he could be trying to get your attention today. God's plans are frequently different than ours. The Bible tells us simply that his ways are not our ways (Isa. 55:8-9). Sometimes the only way to deliver a miracle to us is by getting us to stand still and to shelter in place.

For some of us this quarantine has broken us. We've resorted to demeaning social media posts, arguing with our spouses, and some of us have lost hope that God is in control at all. Friendships have disbanded, families have been broken, and some have even taken their lives during this unique time in our country and in our world. However amidst it all - God is still in control.

In Acts chapter 1 in the middle of uncertainty Jesus tells them to stay where they are and the promised gift of the Holy Spirit will come. Only then will they have the necessary tools to go into al the earth. The great news is, they listened to Jesus, and so can we. As a matter of fact, it's almost as if they became more devoted. They prayed together, ate together, and even sold possessions and gave to the needy amongst them. In order to deliver his promise Jesus needed the Apostles to stay where they were a little longer.

Is it possible God is asking you something similar? Maybe you're restless, depressed, or just bored. Maybe you've lost your job and have convinced yourself is doesn't matter what you do or how you handle it, life is over as you know it.There are many lessons we can learn from this short passage but the closing point I want to make is this: the Apostles obedience was greater than their uncertainty. Even though they didn't understand it, even though there was probably a thousand places they would rather be, they stayed and waited on the promise.

What IF God has been trying to tell you something for some time now but hasn't been able to because you won't stay still? Some of us hate silence and solitude because it forces us to think about the pain and hurt in our lives. What IF God is using Covid-19 as a way to soften the hearts and minds of people across our world? Are you willing to listen, even though it may be painful? Don't give up hope during this brief moment in time. Revelation 3:20 says this "“Look! I stand at the door and knock. If you hear my voice and open the door, I will come in, and we will share a meal together as friends (NLT). Friend, Jesus is on the other side of the door that you've been stuck behind for so long. I urge you to not look at this quarantine as time wasted and/or lost. God wants to deliver something to us, but we've got to be there to open the door.