“They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going…” (Acts 1:10)
“Now faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1)
Ascension week. There’s a precise moment described in this verse when the disciples are left gazing intently heavenward as Jesus is taken up from their sight. Three years of incredible ministry, three days of intensely painful sorrow, and forty days of jaw-dropping, mind-blowing, heart-pounding resurrection presence. And then a moment when He leaves. Those were seconds in which they likely ached with longing for more of Jesus with hearts heavy with the desire to have held on to Him a little longer. Perhaps also an overwhelming fear that this time He was gone for good. So they look intently for any sign of lingering presence, of reassurance, of clarity, of understanding, of hope that they are not abandoned and alone. Those seconds before “two men dressed in white” appear and reassure them must have felt like an eternity. We know, as did those angelic messengers, that Pentecost and the coming of the Holy Spirit was imminent. But for those seconds the disciples might have been on the verge of panic. We all have those intense moments when it seems He is no longer present. There are seasons when God seems to be beyond our immediate grasp, when prayers drift upward, answers feel distant and heaven is silent. We look intently for Jesus and cannot see Him.
Hold on, dear ones. Do not forsake fellowship, prayer and faith. Pentecost is just around the corner!