“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 water, but in just a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.'” Acts 1:4-5 NLT
Have you ever been on an elevator with your dog? There you are walking into a little room when the door closes behind you. Famous trusts me and follows me inside. You are temporarily trapped with no windows to see what is happening. (Soon he will want to lead me into the magical room.) But at first he wonders why we would go into this small, empty space with no other way out. He looks at me as if to say, “Now what?” He sniffs the floor trying to discover the recent history of this place. Finally, he sits and feels the movement and listens to the steady “dings” as we travel. The door opens somehow by itself, and he is ready to get out. But we are temporarily delayed by someone else getting into the room with us, and he has to be even more patient until the door opens again. Finally, without key or handle the door opens again, and I give him the command to exit with me. But we are not back where we started. Somehow, the world has changed and we are in a new place.
Christ was resurrected and returned to a different world. His disciples were not certain of the course that lay before them. But he instructed them to be patient and to expect a miracle by baptism in the Spirit. He did it in fellowship to reassure them of the fulfillment of his promise.
God invites us into new and strange situations daily. We may not see instantly where they are taking us. We will have to be patient at times. But we can rely on his presence through the experience.
Teach me, Lord, to follow your lead today through situations which may seem unfamiliar to me.
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