Day 1: He’s Still On The Throne
Acts 1:1–3 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach until the day he was taken up, after he had given instructions through the Holy Spirit to the apostles he had chosen. After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
Have you ever looked around at the world and felt your confidence crack? The headlines are relentless, the culture feels upside down, and sometimes it seems like the people who reject God are running the show.
I get that feeling, but it is not the full picture.
Luke opens Acts with a word that changes everything: “began.” All that Jesus did during His earthly ministry was just the beginning. The miracles, the teaching, the cross, the empty tomb– all of it was an opening chapter. The story did not end when Jesus ascended. He went to His throne.
And right now, He is ruling. Ephesians 1:20–21 tells us God seated Christ far above every ruler and authority, power and dominion. Every power structure you can name sits under the feet of your Savior.
Think about what that means for the anxiety you carry today. Maybe it’s the situation at work that feels out of control or the diagnosis that knocked the wind out of you. None of it escapes the notice of your reigning King.
You are living under the active rule of a risen Savior who is still directing all things. So let your confidence find its footing– it rests on a throne that cannot be shaken.
Prayer: Father, thank You that nothing is out of Your hands. I know Jesus isn’t finished, but is reigning right now. Help that change my confidence today. In His name I pray, amen.
Day 2: Power You Didn’t Earn
Acts 1:8 But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come on you, and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.
You have probably had a season where you felt stuck. It could have been a sin you kept falling into or a conversation about Jesus you kept avoiding or a bitterness you couldn’t release. At some point you told yourself: “I guess this is just who I am.”
Here is what is stunning about Acts 1:8: Jesus looked at ordinary people and said, “You will change the world.” These were fishermen and tax collectors. They didn’t have political influence, wealth, or a platform. Yet within a generation, they turned the Roman Empire upside down.
How? The Holy Spirit came to live in them, and through them, Jesus continued what He started.
This same power is available to you. If you have faith in Jesus, the Holy Spirit lives in you right now. You are not left to do it on your own power.
Friend, this changes the way you live. You can fight the addiction, have the boldness to share your faith, and forgive the person that hurt you because the Holy Spirit’s power is working in and through you.
You aren’t able to do this on your own. So lean on the Spirit’s power today.
Prayer: Lord, I know I’m not strong enough. But I also know that You are. So help me depend on You today. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Day 3: The Same Jesus Is Coming Back
Acts 1:10–11 While he was going, they were gazing into heaven, and suddenly two men in white clothes stood by them. They said, “Men of Galilee, why do you stand looking up into heaven? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”
Hope is a hard thing to hold onto, isn’t it? You make progress against a sin and then crash back into it. Or a relationship starts to heal and falls apart again. Or maybe the medication works for weeks and then stops. Eventually you stop expecting things to get better.
That hopelessness is exhausting, and it’s understandable in a world broken by sin.
But the angels did not leave the disciples staring at the sky without a promise. They said three words that change everything: “This same Jesus.” The one who healed the sick, forgave sinners, and mended broken lives is coming back. When He returns, He will finish what He started.
This is the bedrock promise of the Christian faith: Jesus will return and make all things new. Every disease will be eradicated, every broken relationship will be restored, and every temptation will be gone. We’re promised that every tear will be wiped away for good.
What does that mean for you, in the middle of your mess?
Your suffering is real, but it isn’t final. The pain you feel today has an expiration date.
You are not hoping in a vague idea but in a Person who has proven He finishes what He starts. He walked out of a grave and He is coming back.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, no matter what happens today, keep my hope set on Jesus. I know He’s coming back. In His name, amen.
Day 4: He Didn’t Quit And He Won’t Start Now
Acts 1:1, 9, 11 I wrote the first narrative, Theophilus, about all that Jesus began to do and teach… After he had said this, he was taken up as they were watching, and a cloud took him out of their sight… “This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven, will come in the same way that you have seen him going into heaven.”
I wonder what season you are walking through right now. Maybe it’s a season of grief, exhaustion, or discouragement.
Whatever it is, watch for this temptation: the lie that Jesus has moved on from you; that He saved you and left you to figure out the rest alone.
The Gospel destroys that lie. On the cross, Jesus paid for your sin. If the story ended there, we would have no hope. But He was not finished– He walked out of the grave. If it ended at the resurrection, we would be on our own. But, again, He was not finished– He ascended to His throne, sent His Spirit to live in you, and He is coming back to make everything right.
At every point where the story could have ended, Jesus kept going. Right now, He is still reigning from His throne, working through His Spirit, and coming back to restore all things.
The One who refused to stay dead refuses to be finished with you. Whatever you face today, you do not face it alone.
Live like Jesus is not finished.
Prayer: Father, the Gospel proves You do not quit. So help me have hope today. In the name of Jesus, amen.
Day 5: He Will Finish What He Started
Philippians 1:6 I am sure of this, that he who started a good work in you will carry it on to completion until the day of Christ Jesus.
There is a particular kind of discouragement that hits when you feel like you should be further along by now. You have been a Christian for years, maybe decades, and yet you still lose your temper, wrestle with doubt, or find it easier to worry than to pray.
And the enemy whispers: “If God were really at work in you, wouldn’t you be different by now?”
Paul’s words to the Philippians answer that lie directly: God started a good work in you, and He will carry it to completion. His faithfulness will make sure you cross the finish line.
Friend, right now, God is actively shaping you, drawing you closer to the image of His Son. And He will not stop until the work is done.
That does not mean your choices do not matter (they do!). Instead, it means the outcome is secured by Someone far more reliable than you. On days when progress feels invisible, His hands are still at work beneath the surface.
So today, stop measuring your spiritual life by how far you think you should be. Instead, measure it by the faithfulness of the One carrying you there. He started it, He sustains it, and He will complete it.
He won’t abandon you because you are a masterpiece He is determined to finish.
Prayer: Father, You know the discouragement I face sometimes when I don’t see progress. Encourage my heart today with Your faithfulness. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Day 6: Forty Days Of Proof
Acts 1:3 After he had suffered, he also presented himself alive to them by many convincing proofs, appearing to them over a period of forty days and speaking about the kingdom of God.
There’s a detail in here that is easy to skip, but it’s worth dwelling on: forty days. After the resurrection, Jesus did not appear once, wave goodbye, and vanish– He spent forty days showing up, walking with His followers, eating with them, teaching them, and giving them what Luke calls “many convincing proofs.”
Jesus did this because He knew they would need certainty for what was coming.
These disciples were about to face persecution, rejection, and death. They would stand before hostile crowds and angry governments. And in those moments, they would need more than a rumor that Jesus was alive; they’d need proof they had seen with their own eyes.
Jesus gave them exactly that. He met them in their doubt and gave them evidence they could stake their lives on.
He does the same for you. Maybe your faith feels thin right now– the prayers seem unanswered or the circumstances keep getting worse.
Look back and trace the evidence of His faithfulness– the moment He saved you, the time He provided when you had nothing left, or the strength He gave you on the day you were sure you could not keep going.
Those are your convincing proofs. Jesus has been showing up in your story all along.
When doubt creeps in, look at His track record before you look at your circumstances. He doesn’t ever change.
Prayer: Lord, thank You for Your faithfulness. I want to depend on it more than I am shaped by my situation. In Jesus’s name, amen.
Day 7: Christ Holds All Things
Colossians 1:17 He is before all things, and by him all things hold together.
I’m sure you are like me: Some mornings you wake up and it feels like everything is coming apart. In those moments, the world feels fragile, like one more thing could send it all crashing down.
Paul tells us this about Jesus: by Him, all things hold together. The spin of the planets, the rhythm of the seasons, the breath in your lungs right now– Jesus is the invisible force holding every molecule in place.
And if He holds the universe together, He can hold your life together too.
Think about it– the same Christ who sustains creation is sustaining you. Underneath the mess, there are everlasting arms keeping everything from falling apart completely.
Have you noticed that even in your worst seasons, something held? You did not fall as far as you could have; the grief did not swallow you whole. Something kept you together when everything tried to pull you apart.
It was Jesus that held you. He was, and is, with you in the middle of it, actively sustaining, actively holding, actively keeping you.
Breathe because the One holding the universe together is holding you right now.
Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You that Your hands are holding all things. Help me trust in You today. In Jesus’s name, amen.