Hurry Up and Wait: Six Days of Joy in the MeantimeSample

Just Do the Next Right Thing...

There was in the days of Herod...a certain priest named Zacharias... His wife was of the daughters of Aaron, and her name was Elizabeth. And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.
Luke 1:5-6

If there was ever a Bible story about waiting, one of the most touching concerns Zacharias and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist.

However, God’s Word explains that Zacharias and Elizabeth were well beyond their expiration date to conceive a child. They most certainly had waited a very long time for a baby, which was a high priority in ancient Hebrew culture. Yet we learn from them in the few verses above that there is something we can do while experiencing a waiting season in our lives. We can live righteously.

Hmmmm. Me, righteous? You, righteous? We all know our falters, failings, and shortcomings. Yet, for those who have received Christ, the Bible tells us that His perfect righteousness has been imparted to us completely. We receive this truth by faith, silencing our guilt and the devil’s accusations against us. In Jesus, we have been clothed in His righteousness.

Yet, we read that Zacharias and Elizabeth, while waiting for a child, continued to walk righteously, one foot in front of the other. What does that mean for us?

Simply put, to live righteously is doing the next right thing.

So, while you wait, what is the next right thing you can do?

Do you need to forgive someone? Do you need to have some behaviors or reactions healed and transformed? It may be an easy action, such as making a phone call, or something difficult, like mending or breaking off a relationship. What would Lord Jesus have you do?

That’s what Zacharias and Elizabeth did. Daily, they did the next right thing before them, positioning Zacharias to be in the temple at God’s destined time to receive the promise of conceiving the forerunner of the Messiah.

Because being faithful and obedient to Jesus in the small things means we will be in the right place at the right time for the big things the Lord wants to do.

Literally, doing the next right thing while you wait is something you can do, and it might make all the difference.

Let’s pray about this...

Lord Jesus, here I am. Even as I enter Your presence now, I sense what the next right thing is that You would have me do _________ (ponder what you are sensing). I choose to follow through in the power of Your Spirit, even if it seems to have nothing to do with what I am waiting for. Here I go! In Your Majestic Name, I pray. Amen.