WAITING
That evening, on the first day of the week, the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among! "Peace be with you," He said. (John 20:19 NLT)
Today is the day designated for the celebration of the resurrection of our Lord and savior Jesus Christ. It is a great day to evaluate waiting. How we wait, why we wait, where we wait, or if we wait, are all very important things to consider.
In this verse of scripture, we find the disciples hiding behind closed doors. They were not waiting for Jesus; they were waiting for the Jewish leaders! They were not expecting Jesus to appear at all! Was there anyone among them that was encouraging the group reminding them of the things that Jesus had told them about? I don’t think so! When the ladies headed to the tomb, they were looking for the dead body that they had seen placed there the day He was crucified. There is nothing written to indicate that they expected Jesus to meet them in person.
It is very understandable that his followers would be reeling from shock. It would seem that the room was tense when Jesus showed up, because the first thing He said was, “Peace be with you.” This is the same word He used to calm a storm. Do you ever find storms developing as you wait for answered prayer?
So, how do we wait for Jesus? Do we expect Him to come on the scene? Do we expect Him to answer our prayers? If we believe what this day stands for, we should! The truth is that quite often we wait just like the disciples did. We fret and worry and expect the worst as we focus on the very problem we prayed about rather than the answer that Jesus has promised. We need to ask ourselves what exactly we are waiting for. If we are waiting for God’s best, then we can wait confidently. If we are waiting in doubt, we are not going to experience peace. In fact, the storm will probably get worse.
As I considered how the disciples must have felt, I was suddenly filled with anxiety. I felt my heart rate increase and my stomach churn, just like it does when I am faced with something that seems impossible. You know the feeling; fear, hopeless, and helpless all at once. Oh man! I do not like that feeling. I called on Jesus just as quickly as it came, and just as quickly as I called, He came. He assured me that it is always that way! Now I see that things around me not always change instantly, but I should!
Just as surely as He came to the disciples, He comes to us. We know from scripture that it took a while for Jesus to convince them, but the good news is He did what it took to convince them. We may not always be easy to convince either, but if we will keep waiting on Jesus, we can be sure He will be faithful to do what He promised. He said it was finished at the cross. His appearance was the confirmation. If we will wait, He will prove Himself. Learn to wait expecting Jesus!