Arise. Go. Await.

Arise, Go, Wait (by Tim Klink of Prison Discipleship Ministry)

Acts 9:6 - And he trembling and astonished said, “Lord, what wilt Thou have me to do?” And the Lord said unto him, “Arise, and go into the city, and it shall be told thee what thou must do.”

Saul of Tarsus had just met face to face with the One he had been persecuting, the Lord Jesus Christ. The encounter had knocked Saul from his horse, and the brightness of the presence of Jesus had blinded him. As he laid on the ground, he proclaimed his complete surrender, and submitted his life and will to his conquering foe.

Lord, what wilt thou have me to do? That is the beginning of salvation, which is simple trust and faith in the One who has provided salvation for all who will receive it. Many today who receive Christ as Saviour and Lord ask the same question out of a sense of wanting to serve but also out of a sense of zeal without knowledge. While there is nothing wrong with wanting to serve the One who saved us from an eternity in hell, we must first follow as the Lord instructs.

The first thing Saul, now the apostle Paul, was told to do was to “arise.” He could accomplish nothing where he was. We must first arise in preparation for what follows. He is simply told to go into the city, which means that he is to make himself available for what will come next. Instead of some great task, he is simply told to wait. The whole time that he was waiting, God was working all things out in the lives of others. Too often it is during the waiting period that we tend to wander away from what we were told to do. We want to run ahead, and when we fail we get angry with God and quit.

Paul was told that further instructions would follow as God’s timing unfolded. Paul waited, and like they say, the rest is history. When God gives you direction that includes “wait,” how do you react to it? Do you wait? Do you run ahead? Do you quit? When you do anything other than follow God you have violated God’s timing, and the outcome will not be the blessings He had within His plan for you. Wait, further instructions are coming.