May 12 Daily Devotional

Bible Reading

Devotional

God is a God of order. Anyone can observe God's order in creation. First the bud, then the flower, then the seed. The order of the seasons is fixed by divine wisdom. There is order in redemption: the facts of Christ's birth, suffering, death, resurrection, and ascension form an irreversible order. And there is order in the way we receive Christ's benefits: we must hear before we can believe, and we must be born again before we can be mature in Christ. God insists that in the church all things be done "in a fitting and orderly way" (1 Cor. 14:40). Even the resurrection from the dead has order: "Christ, the firstfruits; then, when he comes, those who belong to him" (1 Cor. 15:23).

In the order of God's plan, there had to be forty days between Christ's resurrection and his ascension. During those days, the witnesses were prepared for their task. For forty days, the Lord convinced the apostles that he was alive, and he gave them further instruction about the king­dom of God. But why did God decree a ten-day waiting period between the ascension and the coming of the Spirit?

Christ had told his apostles to tarry in Jerusalem. According to Acts 1:14, "they all joined together constantly in prayer." Ten days of waiting were ten days of prayer. Only then were they "clothed with power from on high."

We Christians constantly tend to forget that God is the source of our strength. We are as busy as all people. We feel that we need leadership and intellect and organizers and planning sessions—until we suddenly realize that we lack power. The kind of power Christians need is not the power of intellect, money, or organization; it is "power from on high." It is the lasting lesson of the ten days: unless we are willing to wait for the Lord and pray for the power from on high, we will accomplish nothing.

REFLECTIONS

What does "waiting for the Lord" look like in your life?

Andrew Kuyvenhoven's Daylight, a modern devotional classic, was originally published by Paideia Press in 1977. This updated edition is copyright 2009 by Faith Alive Christian Resources. You can order a copy of this revised version of the book directly from the publisher.

A man of many accomplishments, Andrew Kuyvenhoven is probably best known for his contributions to Today (formerly The Family Altar), a widely-used monthly devotional booklet associated with the Back to God Hour. Unless otherwise indicated, Scripture quotations for this updated edition of Daylight are from the Holy Bible: Today's New International Version copyright 2001, 2005 by the International Bible Society.