by Lilly Lewin
Waiting on the Holy Spirit.
I often say that I would have missed Pentecost.
I would have missed the promised Gift of the Spirit, God’s power and light that Jesus told his followers he would give them.
Why?
BECAUSE I DON’T LIKE TO WAIT!
I am really bad at waiting!
Jesus gives his followers a mission to Go into ALL the World and make disciples!
Tell AND show people all over the place about the LOVE of God in JESUS.
That’s amazing! That’s a mission I want to participate in! That gets me motivated.
But Jesus says WAIT…STAY in Jerusalem and wait for the Gift I will give you!
I am Not so good at STAYING and WAITING.
How about you?
Too often, I have found myself impatient with God’s timing and I get antsy.
I pray for wisdom and direction, but too often, I run ahead and try to do things on my own.
I’m not sure the disciples liked waiting either. But, they had the honor of hanging out with Jesus over time. They’d now witnessed his death, resurrection, and his ascension so they were probably ok with being surprised by whatever Jesus asked them to do, or not do.
So they stayed in Jerusalem, praying and doing life together in the upper room where so many marvelous things had happened.
Am I willing to stay still and wait?
Am I willing to wait on God’s timing for things rather than my own?
Can I be willing to be willing?
Today is the day before we celebrate Pentecost.
The day before the Gift of the Holy Spirit was poured out.
Maybe you too are in that “DAY BEFORE” season.
That season of wondering and waiting on what God is going to do.
That day, that season of uncertainty….about what’s next, about when God will act, about what God is up to in your life. Know that God is with you in this. Know that Jesus hasn’t forgotten you!
On this day before Pentecost, I am announcing to myself and to Jesus that I am willing to be willing. I am willing to wait on the Gift. I am willing to understand that today is all I have. Today is a gift from Jesus to me. What can I do to love more today? What can I do to receive God’s love in my life today? And what can I do to bring love and joy to my world today, right now? Not running ahead, not wishing I was somewhere else, but willing to just be present in today.
Even in the waiting! Even in the Day Before!
ACTION: What can help you receive the gift of the Spirit during Pentecost this year?
I often use ceiling fans or window fans as reminders of the Holy Spirit. When I see a fan, I ask for God’s Spirit to blow over me and fill me again.
I do this with the wind too! I love to go outside and just let the wind blow over me. To know that I’m not in control of this, God is!
Do you have a symbol that represents the Holy Spirit to you? What is it? Or what might you choose it to be for Pentecost this year? One year I chose this red bowl from the Cincinnati Art Museum (way before I had the image of enough from my Freerange Friday post) This year it’s a Jar of Honey. Jesus is reminding me that he is Good and I need to live in his love and sweetness.
I’d love to hear what symbols help you connect with the Holy Spirit.
Happy Pentecost to you!