Acts 1:4-5 and 12-14, Psalm 6:3, Habakkuk 1:2

Matt Summerfield reflects on the need to wait well for God's promises

But they didn't give up. They waited. They remained united. They didn't lose their focus. They kept seeking. They kept pressing in, believing that Jesus would come through on His promise. Knowing that the wait would be worth it and of course, it was when the Holy Spirit finally came through on Day 10 - 50 days after Jesus' resurrection.

The waiting was worth it - Jesus kept His promise.

We live in a quick-fix, fast-food, buy-it-now, remote control, instant gratification culture and it's killing us - because we expect everything to happen NOW.

I used to be a big fan of the rock band Queen. And one of their famous songs was 'I want it all, and I want it now'.

But of course this isn't just about our desire to have stuff now - there are deeper things that we wrestle with.

When will I be healed?
When will I get a job?
When will I get free from my mountains of debt?
When will I get married and have a family?
When will my loved one come to Christ?
When will my situation change?

How long will it be?

Many of us would join in with the song that King David writes in Psalm 6:3:

"My soul is in deep anguish. How long, Lord, how long?"

Or the complaint of Habakkuk in 1:2:

"How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?"

One of the wonderful things about the Bible is its raw, brutal honesty about our struggles. Time after time in the New and Old Testament, people are learning to wait.

The problem is that we want to hold God accountable to something He's not promised whilst we ignore what He has promised.

God never promised that life wouldn't be hard. In fact, He has promised the very opposite. Because we live in a broken world - where we've rebelled against God and the whole of creation is damaged - God reminds us that bad things will happen.