Just A Friendly Reminder

Have you ever been in a waiting room? If not consider yourself blessed. The waiting room is a place where nothing really happens. The waiting room is of course and even redundant sounding, a place to wait. It is a place where you have to sit and watch the clock until whatever you are waiting for is run its course. Not all waiting rooms are used for the same reason. Sometimes waiting rooms are used to house families of expecting mothers and the atmosphere in the room is that of expectation joy as they wait for the news that the baby has come into the world. Sometimes the waiting room is used to house families of a surgical patient and the atmosphere is that of anxiety as they wait for news that their loved one has been put back together and are resting. Sometimes waiting rooms are not even at the hospital, sometimes they are outside the boss’s office and there you are waiting to go in to find out if you are going to get a raise or get written up. Sometimes the waiting room is at the DMV and that waiting room, Lawd have mercy. That atmosphere is nothing more than a bunch of busy folk thinking “could you please hurry up, I got places to go.” And, the dilemma is not so much the waiting, because at that point there is no option but to wait. The dilemma is how we behave during the waiting that’s the problem. When my last child was born they took my wife away and told me to get dressed in my scrubs and they sat me in a waiting room until they had prepared my wife and the new room we were being moved to. She told me it would be about 10 min and they would come back and get me. Well, I’m waiting there for what seemed like forever. I’m getting all flustered and frustrated. My arms are folded and my legs crossed with my foot moving. And all I could think was that they gonna start without me and I’m going to miss the birth of my child. And my poor wife won’t even know they left me out here and it’s going to be a hot mess. So I’m looking at that door that they went it and it said, “Authorized personnel only”. Every time it opened my heart stopped and expected someone to either say come on Mr. Russell we are ready, or even worse “it’s a girl.” So I said, “ah nah, not me, not today,” I’m going to see this baby born one way or the other.” So I go up went to that door that said, “authorized personnel only” and I stood and waited for a person to come out, (and you can’t open it from my end) and as soon as one did, I slid right in. I saw that nurse and I said with chest out full of hot air and said, “yall said yall was gonna come and get me when she was ready. Where is my wife? I’m going in.” she responded by saying, “Mr. Russell we told you that in 10 minutes we would come and get you” I said “that’s right, where were yall?” she said “that was only 5 minutes ago.” I had allowed the waiting room experience to get me out of character and behave different than what was expected of me as a patient. Church don’t let the “waiting room” experiences in life when all you can do is wait on God, to get you out of character to where you behave different than how God has expected you to behave. The doctor told me 10 minutes I should have listened to her. If God told you he will do something listen to him. In the meantime of waiting you just need continue to do what you are supposed to do. Until, what you are waiting on has come, as far as you are concerned nothing has changed.

This is where we find the disciples.

1. He reminds them of their Purpose (1-5)

Each one of us has a purpose for living. We all have been given a purpose by God to do and/or accomplish while on this earth. Sometimes our purpose changes as we progress in life. At one point God may call you to do one thing, then after you have done that then God will move you from this to that. But, it would seem, as it is with every person in the bible, that as long as you are drawing breath that God has use for you still. Even if it’s as simple as praising his Name. The disciples had a purpose. He had changed them from fishermen to fishers of men. So when faced with a hard time of uncertainty they went back to what was familiar. Now commentators are divided on whether or not they were lacking in their faith, or if they were just passing time, or just just working to eat. Now, let me say nothing impeded progress like moving backwards. You may at best get to remain where you are (hello football fans aka forward progress), but you will never move ahead while moving backward. So, if in your life you can’t seem to get ahead, and nothing seems to be changing. Maybe you might need to spend more time facing the windshield instead of the rear-view. Stop trying to do what’s familiar and do what you are called to do.

Peter! What are yall doing? You are supposed to be fishing for men.

2. He reminds them of His Power (v.6-8)

3. He reiterates His Providence (v.9-11)

4. He reassures them of His Presence (v.12-14)