Don't Just Stand There

Date: Tuesday, September 1, 2026

Acts 1 opens the second volume of Luke’s epic with a sequel to his gospel, chronicling the ongoing mission of the risen and ascended Christ through His Spirit-filled disciples. It begins with the Ascension, where Jesus takes His seat at the right hand of the Father, launching a new phase in human history where He lives in us and works through us. The disciples receive both a promise (the Spirit is coming) and a mission (to the ends of the earth). It’s another turning point in God’s master plan of redemptive history: the Law and the Prophets pointed forward, convicting us of sin and the need for a Savior. Now the ascended King, victorious over sin and death, commissions and empowers ordinary people to carry His kingdom into the whole world.

There’s a wonderfully human moment tucked into verse eleven: the disciples stand around, necks craned upward, staring at the empty sky where Jesus vanished into the clouds. Two angels essentially ask, Why are you dummys standing there looking at the sky? I once knew a man who, after losing a job he’d held for twenty-five years, spent months staring at the door he used to walk through every morning, paralyzed by what was gone rather than open to what God might be starting. The angels’ question is gentle but pointed, even a little humorous. Wonder has its place, but faith (trust) eventually has to move forward on the basis of what’s promised and revealed.

Psalm 53 reminds us that “the fool says in his heart, there is no God” and here stand ordinary fishermen and tax collectors, about to turn the world upside down with the opposite conviction: God is not only real, He is risen, ascended, present, and active. Do you see Him?

Devotional Prompts:

When has grief or nostalgia kept you “staring at the sky” instead of moving forward in faith?
What would it look like for you to live as someone who takes the ascended reign of Christ seriously?
How does the promise of the Holy Spirit change how you face uncertainty knowing that the Spirit of Jesus lives in you?

Prayer: Ascended Lord, You have not left us as orphans staring at an empty sky but have sent Your Spirit to empower us for a rich life of blessing and purpose. Turn our gaze from what we’ve lost to what You are doing, and give us feet ready to move forward in faith. Amen.