What do you do when you have been promised a precious gift? You wait for it, eagerly and patiently. Have you observed a child receive a gift they had waited for? The joy that beams from their little faces tells it all.
The Holy Spirit was to come at a later occasion to the disciples as scripture makes it plain that “those who believed in him were later to receive.” God had a beautiful coincidence in store: the Holy Spirit came on Pentecost when people from all over the world were in Jerusalem. So, they would be witnesses, and this started the global movement of the church of Jesus Christ!
The disciples were excited by the promise. They stayed and waited in an upper room to receive the gift. From the day Jesus reminded them of the promise, to the day the Holy Spirit came, it lasted ten full days. It is a clear sign that receiving the gift requires intentional, eager waiting for what God has promised. And right there, in all simplicity, they received the gift. They burst into excellent praise for the Lord! No one who received the gift ended up sad. Instead, they were heard “declaring the wonders of God…" (Acts 2:11-12).
Let us unblock the rivers, making way for the Holy Spirit by a readiness to receive Him.