In A Holding Pattern

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nyone who has ever flown is familiar with the concept of the holding pattern.  This is always the fun part of the flight.  You are sitting on the tarmac waiting to take off, or you are in the air circling waiting to land.  Either way, you are making no progress toward your destination; you are merely waiting.  And, if you’re like most people, you hate waiting.

The worst case of “holding patternitis” I ever had was in June of 1984.  After spending 10 months living in France, the day had finally arrived for my return to the United States.  The flight left Brussels on time and was very uneventful as we made our way over the Atlantic Ocean.  The day was spectacularly gorgeous and there were practically no pockets of turbulence anywhere along our flight path.  Everything went smoothly until we got to Atlanta.

As we approached the airport, the captain informed us the control tower had placed us into a holding pattern. It seemed that a large number of planes were waiting to take off, ferrying people away from Atlanta in record numbers.  Why everyone wanted to exodus Atlanta in such mass numbers was beyond me. There hadn’t been an evacuation like this since General Sherman visited the city during the civil war!

We were in the holding pattern for over 30 minutes.  It was the most disheartening and cruel thing I’ve every experienced.  I mean home was a few hundred feet below us.  We could see cars, houses, trees, McDonald’s signs, everything we had missed.  It was right below us and we couldn’t get there.  My friend, Roland, was having conniptions.  He couldn’t believe that after surviving Europe for almost a year, he couldn’t even get back home!

But the holding pattern did have its purpose.  Although we didn’t like it, circling the Atlanta area was far better than risking a head-on collision with an airplane that was taking off while we tried to land.  The people in the control tower made the appropriate call but none of us in the airplane liked it at the time. 

The Bible is filled with stories of men and women who experienced holding patterns in their lives.  Abraham was promised a son.  He was 75 years old when he received the promise and 100 years old when Isaac was born.  You want to talk about a holding pattern! But the holding pattern we want to consider today is found in Luke’s gospel.

Just before his ascension, Jesus speaks with his disciples.  In the course of his final instructions he makes this statement found in Luke 24:49, “I am going to send you what my Father has promised; but stay in the city until you have been clothed with power from on high."  This statement comes after Jesus has already told his disciples to go into the whole world and share the good news.  You know they were excited about sharing the good news of Jesus with those around them, yet Jesus’ command was clear, “.,,,but stay in the city…” 

What could he mean?  There was so much to do, so much to say, so many people to reach.  How could they do that by staying put?  It just didn’t make any sense.  But they did what they were told.  I can imagine they returned home, becoming jittery and perhaps somewhat impatient.  Someone probably drew a calendar on the wall and counted down the days until they could leave, marking each day off as the sun was setting.

But the holding pattern did have its purpose.  They weren’t yet ready and the Holy Spirit had not yet come to them.  So as they waited, they gathered together and prayed.  What seemed to be no progress was in fact time for preparation.  Trying to accomplish the work Jesus gave them without the Spirit, would have been disastrous and they would have failed.  They could not go forward in their own strength because they would never have been strong enough.  But when the time was right, the Holy Spirit came, they were filled with his presence and 3000 people were added to the church the first day.

Let us draw great encouragement from this passage today.  If you are in a holding pattern, take heart.  God knows exactly where you are.  He has not forgotten you and He has not forsaken you. He is preparing you for the road ahead, the road which He always sees but which you cannot.  Use this time to rest and gather your strength because the day is coming when the holding pattern is over and the work begins.  Will you be ready for that day?