Waiting seems to us a very passive activity. It seems like inertia. We easily become impatient and want to hurry God along. Scripture is full of the disastrous stories of people who were impatient for God’s promises: Abraham, listening to Sarah and deciding that he could have a son by her slave girl, Hagar, instead of waiting any longer for God to act… Jacob, not really seeing how he could get his father’s blessing except through guile and deceit… Moses, deciding to take matters of justice into his own hands by killing an Egyptian… Saul, not having the patience to wait for Samuel and going ahead with his own sacrifices… The human heart does not find it easy to wait.
The first disciples coped with waiting by praying, gathering together and dealing with practical matters. (Acts 1:12-26) Luke tells us, ‘they stayed continually at the temple, praising God.’ (Luke 24:53) He tells us, ‘They all joined together constantly in prayer.’ (Acts 1:14) The believers understood the prime importance of worship and prayer. They also dealt with practical matters, such as the appointment of another apostle to replace Judas. (Acts 1:15-26) This account shows us how decisions were made: by reference to the Scriptures and a confident belief that God would guide them in even the most practical ways (choosing by lot.) The practical and the prayerful are not opposite ends of the spectrum, but together form the best way to live. I often wish Scripture had more to say about the ‘how’ of decision-making in the early church (‘it seemed good to us and to the Holy Spirit’ (Acts 15:28) seems frustratingly unclear to me!), but the truth is that God is able to use a variety of means. Here, we see that they used Scripture as a general guideline, used common sense (applying the same criteria to a new apostle as to the others), prayed and drew lots, by which they trusted Jesus to make his choice known (see Prov 16:33). It should be noted that after the Holy Spirit’s arrival (Acts 2), lots were not used again in the New Testament to appoint leaders.
While we wait for God to act in whatever ways He has promised us, we have a responsibility to pray and serve Him faithfully. Waiting is no excuse for inaction or inertia.
‘While I’m waiting
I will serve You.
While I’m waiting
I will worship.
While I’m waiting
I will not faint.
I’ll be running the race
Even while I wait.’ (‘While I’m Waiting’, John Waller)
