03/06/2022
What is the condition of our hope in Jesus Christ today? Are we dejected, walking disappointedly, and in possible disbelief, towards Emmaus, or are we facing life with hopeful prayer on our lips, and with our eyes fixed on the sky as we anticipate His imminent return? Sometimes the world deals us a terrible blow that knocks the wind out of us, and we find ourselves facing a crisis of faith, but the proper way to deal with those occurrences is to redouble the intensity of our prayers, and lean on the Holy Spirit for the remembrance of all we have been promised… “I am with you always”, and “I have overcome the world.” to mention just two.
“But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things happened.”
Luke 24:21 ESV
The two disciples who met Jesus on the road to Emmaus are not much different than you or me. Oh, we like to think that we can easily weather every storm, and that our strength of faith will always be sufficient in the midst of hardship, but there will be those times when we will teeter on the brink of turning back towards the world. What happens in these moments of pain, suffering, or disappointment, will determine whether we will grow close to God, or lose our faith.
I know a wonderful Christian woman who loved her husband with an incredibly deep love. They had one of those fairytale loves… then he was diagnosed with cancer. She was devastated, and sought the Lord in prayer with all her heart, but to no avail. Her husband became sicker, and the treatment of his cancer less hopeful. Finally she brought him to two men of God in a distant city where she had received healing prayer once before. These men were strong in faith and prayer, and they anointed him with oil, laid their hands on him, and prayed fervently for his healing, but the Spirit spoke to one of them, and told him that this was not the Lord’s will. A short time later the husband went to be with the Lord, and the prayers of these two godly men turned towards the woman…they knew she would face a season of suffering and that her faith would come under intense attack… she was about to take a walk towards Emmaus.
“That very day two of them were going to a village named Emmaus, about seven miles from Jerusalem, and they were talking with each other about all these things that had happened.”
Luke 24:13-14 ESV
God’s will supersedes all, and his incredibly intricate plan is beyond our understanding. Sometimes we face trials that cut us to the bone, and cause us to reexamine every aspect of our faith with such intensity that even the very foundations of our belief are shaken, and our hope is in desperate peril. Our once strong faith and hope diminishes in times such as this and our prayers must change to accommodate such occurrences. In times such as these we must redirect them, and instead of praying for deliverance from our troubles we must pray that God would help us in our unbelief, and strengthen our hope in Him.
Have you ever stood in such a place? Have you ever walked dejectedly back towards where you once lived, towards who you once were, towards Emmaus? Well it is not meant for you to lose your faith, and on that desperate road, when all seems lost, Jesus will appear to you. The question will be this… will you hear what he says to you, will it quicken your spirit, and when He reveals Himself, will it turn you back towards Jerusalem?
“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
Luke 24:27 ESV
Hope, once found, is not meant to be fleeting, but in Christ is eternal. In our moments of tribulation and crisis, we need to remember the day before we first believed, when our world was without God, and hopelessness consumed us. Then, with our current suffering placed in its proper perspective, we can focus properly on the hope we found in Jesus, and understand fully his faith, and the hope He continued to nourish, even on Calvary… when in the moment He faced crisis He said…
“And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?””
Matthew 27:46 ESV
Then, in perfect hope and faith He said…
“Then Jesus, calling out with a loud voice, said, “Father, into your hands I commit my spirit!” And having said this he breathed his last.”
Luke 23:46 ESV
So, what is the condition of our hope today? Are we undergoing tremendous suffering and our prayers being shouted out, only to return the silence of God to our ears? Is the foundation of our faith, and belief, shaking beneath our feet? Well if this is where we are then we need to remember the days when we were without Christ, and pray not for healing, or deliverance from our present calamity, but for the will of God to be done, and our hope in Him to be restored… our belief to be strengthened… and our faith to be watered by the blood of Jesus. In this way the will of God will become our awaited answer, and we will be placed on the road to Jerusalem with wings for feet, and joy in our hearts.
“remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.”
Ephesians 2:12-13 ESV
Prayer:
Father, thank you for every trial we face, and for your will that is revealed to us as we pray through it. Thank you Father for the hope each of us has in you that strengthens our belief, and feeds our faith. Thank you for sending your Son Jesus to us on our various roads to Emmaus, for it is He who rescues us from whatever crisis of faith we might be confronting there. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you our God who gives us hope in your promises, and never abandons us. Praised be your name for every answered prayer; every season of silence, and the renewal of hope when we are pursued by our doubt and hopelessness. Merciful are you who makes our pain bearable, the burden of faith light, and your joy everlasting. Amazing is your grace that breaks the bread, and reveals Jesus to us, in our times of distress. Wash away our doubt and sin with the blood of Christ, and return to us our faith in Him, and joyous hope in you. Seat us at your table with Jesus and open our eyes to the truth of eternity we have in Him. Praised be your name Father, now and forevermore.
“You who have made me see many troubles and calamities will revive me again; from the depths of the earth you will bring me up again. You will increase my greatness and comfort me again.”
Psalm 71:20-21 ESV
“For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken.”
Psalm 62:5-6 ESV
“Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
Hebrews 11:1 ESV
Rich Forbes