Above Dark Clouds the Sun Is Shining

But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.

Acts 1:8 NIV

I had the occasion to fly to Berlin. Dark clouds hung over Munich, and it was raining. But as the airplane rose higher into the sky I was plunged into a wonderful world. The sun shone on top of the clouds and made them look like fluffy wads of cotton.
Sometimes we are discouraged, everything is dark around us, and the clouds hang deep in our lives. If you need hope, think of the bright sky above the clouds!
I wonder how the disciples felt when Jesus left them. All of their hopes for a better future on earth were shattered. They had expected Jesus to change everything and to liberate them from Roman oppression. “Then they gathered around him and asked him. ‘Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?’”
But Jesus gave them a clear answer: “It is not for you to know the times or dates the Father has set by his own authority” (verse 7).
Hadn’t He understood them? Or had they not understood Him? They had been with Him for three years, had seen His wonders, and yet they had not understood His message. But Jesus did not leave them in uncertainty about the future. He gave them instructions and hope: “You will be my witnesses” (verse 8).
We may ask, “Is this still valid for us as followers of Jesus in our times?” We too are given instructions and hope: To receive the gift of the Holy Spirit! When Peter preached his challenging sermon, the people who heard him had an important question: “Brothers, what shall we do?” (Acts 2:37). “Peter replied, ‘repent and be baptized, every one of you, in the name of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of your sins. And you will receive the gift of the Holy Spirit’” (verse 38).
We have been promised the power of the Holy Spirit, and this will help us to proclaim the gospel. The Holy Spirit is given at baptism to the followers of Christ. You and I, who claim Jesus Christ as our Lord and Savior, have received this gift so that we can bring hope to the hopeless, joy to the joyless, and a vision for a bright future to those in darkness.