SHINING WHEN JESUS IS HIDDEN

Acts 1v8: '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 end of the earth. After he said this, he was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid him from their sight.'

It seems contradictory to be told to be Jesus' witnesses when He has been taken from our sight, and the sight of all mankind. As Jesus showed though, it doesn't matter whether He is on earth or not, there will still be those that question, even in the face of the miraculous. For this reason, although witness is both in word and deed, in order to effectively witness, we must always rely on, and trust in, the work of the Spirit, not the evidence or fruit that we watch for or think exists because of what we see with our eyes and hear with our ears. Evidence may or may not exist straight away, or in time, but nevertheless, the Word tells us that there is not 10 days till the harvest, but the harvest is right now, the Spirit is always effective, no matter how weak or ineffectual we think we are. The Word is powerful and living and sharper than any two edged sword, and so is any witness with that Word.

Often discouragement comes in our witnessing because we don't have Jesus by our sides, visibly encouraging or instructing us. It also comes in times when we don't even feel we have that kind of encouragement spiritually speaking. There comes no great illuminations from the Word, no word of encouragement from others, in fact, no support seems to come from anywhere, and yet we still hear Him speak to us in His Word, 'you will be my witnesses'. We are told to shine our light. We don't need a massive strategy for that, we simply must just 'shine our light;' shine truth, shine good works, shine life. Let deeds reveal truth, and truth deeds, and let the Holy Spirit reveal Jesus, and do the work which, whether evident or hidden, is definitely and powerfully going on.