Barbie Loflin

Luke 24:15, 16, 28-32

And while they conversing & discussing together, Jesus Himself caught up with them and was already accompanying them. But their eyes were held so that they did not recognize Him.

Then they drew near the village to which they were going, and He acted as if He would go further. But they urged & insisted., saying to Him, Remain with us (Tarry with us) (Stay with us), for it is toward the evening, and the day is now far spent. So, HE went in to stay (tarry) with them.

Our society is such an instant gratification society. We have become so used to never waiting on anything. Microwave meals, Instant Messenger, pagers, cell phones, drive thru meals, weddings and funerals, instant breakfast, instant photo… everything at our fingertips. Waiting for gratification and/or satisfaction has become, for the most part, obsolete. If we want it, we have it (if we can afford it). Presto! Here it is. Unfortunately, once accustomed to this lifestyle, we can transfer that need for instant gratification into our personal relationship with Christ, and then into our service of God in the local body. I see it all of the time. We, as a people, do not know what to do with “expectant pauses,” or a call to “wait upon the Lord.” If we do not get an immediate response to our prayer, or an instant “word” or “manifestation” of the Spirit, we simply move ahead, and can sometimes plow right through a gentling work of the spirit that is preparing hearts in a place of tender reverence wrapped in silence.

Seriously, have you noticed how little silence we subject ourselves to? We do not like silence. We turn on a radio, flip on the TV, turn on a fan or a dishwasher. We do not even want it quiet when we sleep. Silence makes us fidget and become restless. If there is a pause in the action, we automatically seek a way to fill it up. We get uncomfortable. We think we need to do something… make some noise… break the silent place.

Ah, but there is a wonderfully powerful purpose for silence. Take a look at what actually happens when you get quiet and wait before the Lord; what happens in the times of tarrying, and the times of waiting. It is truly no wonder that the enemy tries to keep us in constant motion.

Psalms 62:1 My soul waits in silence for God only; From Him is my salvation.

Psalms 62:5 My soul, wait in silence for God only, For my hope is from Him

Isaiah 41:1 Coastlands, listen to Me in silence, And let the peoples gain new strength;

Isaiah 33:2 O LORD, be gracious to us; we have waited for You.

And these are just a few of the amazing things that happen as we wait in silence for Him.

Jesus tarried with them. Think about that for a moment. So often we think we are waiting for Him, when in actuality, we are waiting with Him. He has revelation… He is merely waiting for the time of release. Too often we run away right before the revelation is released. Our need to fill the silence or escape it robs us of deeper knowledge of God: deeper revelation of things spoken only in the silence. It seems so innocent on the surface. We like music, conversation, activity. They are all good things. But are they the best? Churches are filled with every activity and event we can possibly fill it with, but prayer and tarrying before the Lord has no place. Intercessors have been relegated to closets and what Jesus Himself declared should be a House of Prayer, no longer is.

So much noise… so little salvation, hope, grace and strength. What is wrong with this picture? Have a meal at the church and the building cannot hold all of the people. Call a prayer meeting, and the prayer inevitably begins with, “… wherever two or three are gathered…,” because that is all that have gathered. I know… I’m sorry! But we complain about the things we see as lacking in the body, but we are unwilling to tarry and wait before the Lord until the power fills the place. Salvation is free, but there is a price for Presence.

Jesus stayed with them when they asked Him to. He reclined with them; broke the bread with them, and it was only in that moment that their eyes were opened. Think about it. Only when the bread was broken did they recognize Him. I find it wonderful that the breaking of the bread brought recognition, for He was broken, this precious Bread of Heaven.

Our moments sitting with Jesus, tarrying at His feet, spending quantity time (because all time with Jesus is quality) with Him, brings us to the point where we can easily and clearly recognize the One who has walked with us, even spoken with us and explained things to us, but have never really seen. Time waiting on the Lord is precious. So much revelation takes place in the silence of waiting. And according to scripture, salvation, hope, strength, grace and clarity are all found in the waiting. “They that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. They shall mount up with wings as eagles. They shall run and not grow weary, walk and not faint…” The old song says – Teach me, Lord, Teach me, Lord, to wait.

Waiting is not our strong suit.

When I was a child (I know, here I go with one of my stories) I spent many hours in the altar tarrying. I didn’t even know what I was doing, but it seemed fitting and right. I tarried in silence, I tarried with tears, I tarried with prayers, I tarried with friends, I tarried with parents, I tarried with brothers and sisters in Christ. I tarried when I had no clue what I was tarrying for. All I knew was that when these people set aside the time, got on their faces before God, and cried out to Him and WAITED… God showed up. Glory fell. Lives were changed. I liked that. I wanted to know that God.

You see, it is not that I think it takes and extraordinary amount of time for God to move, or for the Holy Spirit to do the work that He has been sent to do. They can put it on you on you in a heartbeat. I believe that the tarrying is for our sake. As we tarry we enter into His presence for an extended period of time, and in that extended period of time our flesh is dealt with. Sins are exposed, hearts are revealed, barriers are broken down. As we tarry in His presence, I do not believe that we are waiting for Him to move as much as we are taking the time required to get our flesh out of His way. God moves like lightning. Our flesh is another matter altogether. We tarry so that we can be changed and truly recognize what God is doing. We tarry so that we may know His Presence beyond the mere momentary flash of lightning. I believe that waiting on Him, and tarrying in His presence, prepares us for His move…. for friend, He is already moving.

When we fall into the thought pattern and the lifestyle of instant everything, we think God has to fall into that same category or mode of operation. Ha! Double Ha! God is a storm that will overtake you as you tarry and wait in His timeframe. In His time, He will fill you to the point that (as James Brown might say…) you Jus’ cain’ take no mo… When God breath blows through the place, it ain’t (sorry Mrs. Langston) always pretty. The winds blow through your spirit, the thunder rolls, a mighty voice breaks through your walls; the rains of truth begin to wash over you, and as all of this rampages through your spirit and soul, the lightning flashes. It is a natural progression as witnessed in nature all around us. The storm rolls through. Still, many of us want the lightning without the clouds. We want the power without the ominous presence. We want the flash without the boom.

Danger, Will Robinson! Never seek the lightning. Seek the One Who made it.

I believe:

We hunger and are not filled – because we do not wait for food.

We thirst and are not quenched – because getting water just takes too long.

We seek, but we do not find – because knocking takes effort.

Painful but true.

We know better.

Luke 11:9-13

9So I say to you, Ask and [2] keep on asking and it shall be given you; seek and [3] keep on seeking and you shall find; knock and [4] keep on knocking and the door shall be opened to you.10For everyone who asks and [5] keeps on asking receives; and he who seeks and [6] keeps on seeking finds; and to him who knocks and [7] keeps on knocking, the door shall be opened.11What father among you, if his son asks for [8] a loaf of bread, will give him a stone; or if he asks for a fish, will instead of a fish give him a serpent?12Or if he asks for an egg, will give him a scorpion?13If you then, evil as you are, know how to give good gifts [gifts [9] that are to their advantage] to your children, how much more will your heavenly Father give the Holy Spirit to those who ask and [10] continue to ask Him!

Drum roll please…

Persistence. Patience. Perseverance. Steadfastness. Faithfulness. Long suffering. Seeking, Knocking. Asking…. Waiting. It sounds like such an old fashioned concept. But once again, I do not think we have become so enlightened that we have no need of the “old ways.” I believe it is because of the old ways that there remains a holy remnant. But then, what do I know? I’m just the daughter of one of those face-down, knees raw, God-fearing, just foolish enough to take Him at His Word, women.

It really is quite simple: Is He worth waiting for? The sad thing is that each of us have already answered that question. We answer it every single day… when we do not wait.

I leave you with this:

Our society tells us to watch the clock, keep the agenda, and seize the moment…

When God Himself pursues us from eternal places, and longs to tarry with us.

May we abide long enough, stay and stand still,

Be silent for lengths of time sufficient

To peel off the layers of world that envelope us,

And be held within arms of the timeless and unseen.

Really.

What are you waiting for?