Never Alone!

 

So, when they had come together, they asked him, “Lord, will you at this time restore the kingdom to Israel?” He said to them, “It is not for you to know times or seasons that the Father has fixed by his own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the end of the earth.” And when he had said these things, as they were looking on, the was lifted up, and a cloud took him out of their sight. And while they were gazing into heaven as he went, behold, two men stood by them in white robes, and said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking into heaven? This Jesus, who was taken up from you into heaven, will come in the same way as you saw him go into heaven.” (Acts 1:7-8 ESV).

 

The Book of Acts, which was the sequel to the Gospel of Luke, is one of the most informational of the New Testament writings. We see more of the chronological history of the early development of the Church. It contains the missionary efforts of Paul and others who led the spread of the Gospel into the known world in that first century. This was the intent of Jesus. After capturing his followers’ imagination with the kingdom of God, Jesus tells them, in effect, “I need you to be my witnesses here on earth. And here’s the great thing — you will not be alone.”

 

Jesus says that God’s Spirit will come upon them and give them power to be his witnesses. He explains that God by his Spirit will be the source of their strength so that they won’t have to do this work on their own. I have come to realize that feeling alone in life is common to all of us. Whether it is in some task we have taken to accomplish, or simply walking through the path given to us in life. Feeling alone can be debilitating. Jesus’ disciples knew about how God had told his prophets what to do in past generations. They had also seen Jesus do some powerful things. And now he was telling them that the Holy Spirit of God himself would empower them!

 

They must have felt a bit terrified but also confident, knowing they could go forward with the power and presence of God. This was the same God who had created the earth and brought Jesus back to life! And the same presence is available to believers today. We never face life alone. He is with us, intimately and powerfully!