This post is a part of my series of once weekly devotionals called Faith for Thought. Bookmark the homepage for Faith for Thought here to return to it for the weekly update on Thursday!
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Luke 24:13-24
13 Now that same day two of them were going to a village called Emmaus, about seven miles[a] from Jerusalem. 14 They were talking with each other about everything that had happened. 15 As they talked and discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked along with them; 16 but they were kept from recognizing him.
17 He asked them, “What are you discussing together as you walk along?”
They stood still, their faces downcast. 18 One of them, named Cleopas, asked him, “Are you the only one visiting Jerusalem who does not know the things that have happened there in these days?”
19 “What things?” he asked.
“About Jesus of Nazareth,” they replied. “He was a prophet, powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. 20 The chief priests and our rulers handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; 21 but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place.
22 In addition, some of our women amazed us. They went to the tomb early this morning 23 but didn’t find his body. They came and told us that they had seen a vision of angels, who said he was alive. 24 Then some of our companions went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said, but they did not see Jesus.”
Luke 24:13-24, NIV
Devotion
Pause for a minute and think about how you would finish this sentence: “But I had hoped…”
The last several years, month after month, for me it was: “But I had hoped…this would’ve been the month I got pregnant.”
Maybe it’s the same for you. Or maybe it’s…
That this job would’ve worked out.
That you would’ve healed him.
That this would’ve been the pregnancy that didn’t end in miscarriage.
When something that you hoped for and longed for ends in crushing disappointment, you start to wonder if God has abandoned you. Or maybe He was never even with you to begin with?
On the road to Emmaus, when Jesus’ disciples were walking along, they were thinking along the same lines: But we had hoped…
They had hoped that Jesus would’ve been the one to redeem Israel.
But after Jesus was crucified, they were left with crushing disappointment. Maybe Jesus was not the one to save them after all. Maybe all of it was just a waste of time.
Little did they know they were talking to the risen Jesus himself.
That’s the problem though, isn’t it?
In the midst of our own disappointments and sorrows, instead of recognizing Jesus, we start to doubt whether or not He is the real thing after all. We ask ourselves if He is even there; how a good Jesus could possibly ever let our lives be filled with so much heartbreak. How could His plan involve death, sorrow, and suffering? It doesn’t make any sense.
Even though Jesus had told the disciples in advance that He would have to die — even when they had heard there were angels saying He had risen — their faces were downcast. They had forgotten Jesus’ promises to them. They couldn’t see past the confusion of how God’s plan could involve suffering to see God Himself.
And just like the disciples that day on the road to Emmaus, when things don’t go according to our own plans, rather than remember Jesus’ promises, we question them.
When we face the crushing disappointment of something we had hoped for that doesn’t turn out the way we expected, we forget that these present sufferings are nothing compared to the glory God has planned for us (Romans 8:18).
We forget that God has the power to renew our strength, to run and not grow weary (Isaiah 40:31).
We forget that God is making us more like Him, cultivating in us endurance, character, and hope (Romans 5:3-5).
We forget that God has already told us in advance that we will have trouble in this world, and that He alone can give us peace (John 16:33).
Take Action
When things in our lives don’t go as planned, Jesus wants to remind us of His promises.
Think again about how you would finish the sentence, “But I had hoped…”
When you are faced with disappointment in this life, what verse can you memorize to remind yourself of what God has promised? Look at the verses listed above for ideas.
