We Never Walk Alone

   Editor’s side note. I felt this article was appropriate as Deer Creek will deal with many new things that come with the search for a Pastor.  TAC

                                                                 By Diane Baldwin

                   From the first pages of These Days, Daily Devotions for Living by Faith,  April-June 2025 edition

    No matter who you are or what you do in life, there is a risk in trying new things. Sometimes the new can be fun and exciting; at other times, it can be terrifying and discouraging. Familiar is safe. Familiar is comfortable. You don’t need faith or trust when you have familiarity. “Familiarity breeds contempt” goes the saying, but rarely if ever does it breed trust in God.

  As Jesus prepares his disciples for his leaving, they’re not quite sure they’re ready to let him go. Going from something you know to something you don’t know can be terrifying no matter who you are. It’s like the big leap a young person takes when dropped off at college. It takes a while to figure out, or to remember, that loved ones are still in their lives, that their family still wants to hear from them and offer support, that they are going to find new friends and community and support in a new chapter of possibility. It can be scary.

 In order for the disciples to carry on without Jesus, they must take a big leap - they have to risk feeling foolish and admitting they don’t know it all. They have to try out new behaviors, patterns and practices. The good news is they won’t be doing it alone. The disciples will have community and the presence of the Spirit in their midst. For God has provided and is indeed with them.

 Jesus’ departure is critical, though. He must die. He must be raised. He must be seen and touched by his disciples. He must charge them to carry on all that he has shown and taught them. The ascension is a story about the next stage on the journey toward maturity in discipleship. The disciples won’t be able to take on leadership and responsibility if they’re still waiting for the rabbi to tell them what to do. Fear can be a prod that challenges us to learn something new and to trust that God is doing something new within us, helping some new ability grow and emerge.

  Following the ascension, the disciples have to start working out the challenges together. Jesus reminds them that they won’t be alone. Support and guidance will come in new ways - in a community gathered in the presence of the Spirit, both at home and on the road. They’re told to expect the confidence that comes from the Holy Spirit and then go and take up their work in the world as witnesses to the creative power and abiding presence of God.

 They never go alone, and neither do we.