and he said, ‘the God of our fathers appointed you to know his will, to see the Righteous One and to hear a voice from his mouth; for you will be a witness for him to everyone of what you have seen and heard. and now why do you wait? rise and be baptized and wash away your sins, calling on his name.’ [acts 22:14-16]
why do you wait?
there is something to be said for waiting, and moments when we are specifically called to ‘wait upon the Lord’ (psalm 27:14, isaiah 40:31 are examples). these are times when we want to do something, anything, but are called to be still and wait on God’s timing.
yet what we see here is a moment for action! as paul steps into the new life that lies before him as an apostle of Jesus and missionary to the gentiles, there is no need to wait.
God himself had appointed paul to do his will, and there was no reason to wait on accepting that call! there was nothing to think about, nothing to do, no one to ask. paul had heard the voice of God and was accordingly ready to embrace the new creation that he had become.
we too have heard the voice of the Righteous One as he called us unto himself. we too are called to be a witness of him. we who have believed are also called to be baptized.
are there areas in your life where you are waiting and should not be? are you waiting to follow God’s calling out of fear or hesitation, when he is calling you to act?
whatever God is calling us to, we must be prepared to hear his voice and obey without hesitation. he is faithful, he is trustworthy, and he is so very good to us! we can walk into the path he has set before us without fear, as the God who called us is faithful to complete the work he has begun in us.
~ jason soroski