{"id":1101,"date":"2023-04-27T06:45:28","date_gmt":"2023-04-27T13:45:28","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=1101"},"modified":"2023-04-26T10:38:52","modified_gmt":"2023-04-26T17:38:52","slug":"hope-restored","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/?p=1101","title":{"rendered":"Hope Restored"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

(Luke 24:13-35)<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n\n\n\n

When is the last time you were disappointed that something didn\u2019t turn out the way you had hoped? Was it something you initiated or coordinated, an event or small get-together that took a good amount of planning and purchasing to pull off, but for one reason or another, it fell short? Was it something that didn\u2019t involve you at all in terms of planning, but was something you were looking forward to attending or participating in and it just missed the mark? <\/p>\n\n\n\n

We can also experience a sense of hopelessness in other areas of life. How do you know when you\u2019ve lost hope, when your situation seems hopeless? A recent devotion<\/a> pointed to the word \u201cnever\u201d as an indicator. When \u201cnever\u201d makes its way into our thinking and speaking in one area of life or another, that\u2019s when we\u2019ve lost hope. \u201cI\u2019m never going to \u2026 get a job \/ get better \/ get married \/ get out of debt \/ change \/ etc.\u201d When we use the word never, it\u2019s an expression of a loss of hope in being able to see how things will change for the better.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

How we got to that point of losing hope (two reasons will be explored in this post) matters less than what we do once we\u2019re there. Where do we go from that point? How is hope restored? Let Jesus shows us as he restores hope to two hopeless disciples on the first Easter.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jesus joined the two disciples as they were heading toward a village outside of Jerusalem called Emmaus. Though Jesus kept them from initially recognizing him, he wasn’t kept from recognizing something about them: they had lost hope. They were discussing all the things that had just happened in Jerusalem, and when Jesus asked for more clarification, \u201cThey stood still, their faces downcast.\u201d (v.17)<\/em><\/strong>. They were visibly dejected and downhearted!<\/p>\n\n\n\n

They explained why. \u201cJesus of Nazareth\u2026 was a prophet,\u00a0powerful in word and deed before God and all the people. The chief priests and our rulers\u00a0handed him over to be sentenced to death, and they crucified him; but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel\u201d (v.19-21)<\/em><\/strong>. While they didn\u2019t use the word \u201cnever,\u201d they might as well have! The natural conclusion they had drawn was that Jesus could never redeem them now. They had hoped he was going to be the one to redeem Israel, but since he had been sentenced to death and crucified, that was obviously never going to happen. That was their thinking. They had lost hope. They were at a dead end. They couldn\u2019t see how a dead Jesus could redeem Israel.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Somewhat ironic, isn\u2019t it, given that it was by his death that he did just that – redeemed Israel, and all people? \u201cChrist redeemed\u00a0us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us, for it is written: \u2018Cursed is everyone who is hung on a pole\u2019\u201d (Galatians 3:13)<\/em><\/strong>. The same event they presumed had kept <\/em>Jesus from being able to redeem was the very act by which <\/em>he carried out redemption. Jesus\u2019 death was the payment he offered up to buy back – to redeem – souls otherwise condemned to hell because of sin. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The source of their hopelessness then – Jesus\u2019 death – should in fact have been their source of hope! \u201cFor you know that it was not with perishable things such as silver or gold that you were redeemed\u00a0from the empty way of life handed down to you from your ancestors,\u00a0but with the precious blood\u00a0of Christ, a lamb\u00a0without blemish or defect\u201d (1 Peter 1:18-19)<\/em><\/strong>. Nevertheless, rather than being filled with hope, their hearts were emptied of it.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The thinking of the Emmaus disciples illustrates two of the reasons we often lose hope. The first happens when we start with the wrong expectation on our end. Why were the disciples so disappointed? Why so let down? Why so hopeless? Because they started with a faulty expectation! Their expectation for redemption and God\u2019s promise of deliverance was too narrow-focused and worldly. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Jewish history emphasized and celebrated how God had delivered – redeemed – his people from the earthly oppression of a worldly leader when God delivered the Israelites from Pharaoh’s slavery in Egypt. The remembrance of that event was so woven into their culture that their expectation came to be a similar deliverance from earthly oppression. They anticipated Jesus would be the modern-day Moses who would deliver them from Roman rule. Of course the Emmaus disciples would be hopelessly disappointed if that was the expectation they had of why Jesus had come! They started with the wrong expectation.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Isn\u2019t that often the cause of our own hopelessness? We start off with the wrong expectation. For example, when we begin with the expectation that God\u2019s greatest concern in our lives is our happiness, then we are disappointed when God allows something on our plate that doesn’t make us happy at all. Or, we end up sidestepping Scripture in pursuit of personal happiness. But your happiness isn\u2019t God\u2019s greatest concern in this life; your holiness is, which is why he sent Jesus to secure it. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Another wrong expectation that we can hold is the expectation that God grants believers special dispensation from suffering or hardship in life. As believers, we expect that God must give us a pass on such things. When life unravels then, we feel hopelessly let down by God. But it was our faulty expectation that was the cause.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The second reason we often lose hope? We give up because of too low an expectation on God\u2019s end. The two disciples made a point of explaining two things: 1) it had been three days since Jesus had died, and 2) multiple visitors had confirmed that there was no body in the tomb. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

To us in the present day, who have the full benefit of all of the revelation of Scripture, three days and no body are simply more proof of the Resurrection. But to the disciples, as we can sense from the tone of their words, these realities didn\u2019t make them more optimistic, but instead deflated them even more. We can interpret their reference to three days as an expectation that surely if God was going to do something, it would have happened within that timeframe, but as each day passed, it only became more hopeless. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

And no body in the tomb? Well, without anyone actually laying eyes on Jesus, there was still no reason (outside of Scripture and a fully-grasping faith along with it!) to equate an empty tomb with a risen and alive Jesus. Instead of providing more clarity, it just added to the confusion and hopelessness. The disciples were ready to give up because of too low an expectation on God\u2019s end.\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Again, we can relate. While there\u2019s a good reason your financial advisor will remind you that past performance of an investment is no guarantee of future results, we do not need the same caution when it comes to God\u2019s promises. In other words, we don\u2019t have any reason to conclude that simply because God chose not to act in one way in the past, he will do the same in the future. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

“The last time a loved one battled cancer, I prayed persistently that God would heal them. Since he didn\u2019t, why should I pray for the same thing this time around?” “We have a record of all of God\u2019s divine interventions in the Bible, but since he doesn\u2019t seem to intervene that way in the lives of believers today, why bother expecting that he will?” Even though our faith may acknowledge that God can <\/em>do this or that, our faith doesn\u2019t take the next step in bold confidence that God will <\/em>do this or that. So we give up because of too low an expectation on God\u2019s end. \u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Now what does God do for those without hope? Whether hopelessness stems from starting with the wrong expectation on our end or because we give up due to too low an expectation on God\u2019s end, God has the same solution. He does for us exactly what he did to the hopeless disciples heading to Emmaus: he comes right alongside us in the midst of our hopelessness. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

He does not wait for us to generate some internal hope first, to work in ourselves some semblance of optimism or positive thinking. No, he walks right up alongside us in the midst of our hopelessness to restore our hope.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Here\u2019s what I love about Jesus\u2019 encounter with the disciples. When all was said and done, as they reflected on the direct divine intervention they had with Jesus, what was it that stood out most? \u201cThey said to each other, \u2018Weren\u2019t our hearts burning within us while he was talking with us on the road and explaining the Scriptures\u00a0to us?\u2019\u201d (v. 32)<\/em><\/strong>. Their hearts were burning not just at being in Jesus\u2019 presence, but in his \u201cexplaining the Scriptures\u201d to them! That\u2019s what fired them up! That was what churned a passion inside of them! It was a deeper understanding of the Word, as explained to them personally by the Word himself, Jesus! <\/p>\n\n\n\n

The disciples eventually realized they were walking along the road with and in the presence of the risen Jesus! Jesus himself walked and talked with them, and they even ate a meal together with him, but what stood out most about their time with him was how much clearer he made the Bible for them!\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

You know where I\u2019m going with this, don\u2019t you? We have the exact same Scriptures – and even more Scriptures than they had – accessible to us in more ways than anyone could ever have imagined it. Yet, when is the last time you\u2019d describe your use of any of these opportunities to be in the Word as your heart burning within you? Has it been a while? Has it been\u2026 ever? What\u2019s the deal? What\u2019s wrong with us? What are we missing? Why are we consistently convincing ourselves that something else is a more valuable use of our time than being in the Word so that he can restore our hope through it?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

After all, didn\u2019t it seem like the Emmaus disciples\u2019 hope was restored after Jesus opened the Scriptures to them? Luke tells us they got up and returned \u201cat once\u201d (v.33)<\/em><\/strong> to tell the others about their experience. They didn’t call it a night and decide to tell them in the morning. They couldn’t wait! Why? Their hope was restored.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Why shouldn\u2019t you think God will do the same for you through his Word? The Bible is where the whole foundation of hope is laid out for us, one that is based on the assurance that our sins have been paid for and forgiven. We give Jesus every reason to address us as he did the Emmaus disciples: \u201cHow foolish you are, and how slow to believe all that the prophets have spoken! (v.25)<\/em><\/strong>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

But instead, he calls us heirs, children, chosen, treasured, beloved, saints, etc.! In the Bible, he lays out promise after promise that is about far more than just the heaven stuff waiting for us one day, but for the hopeless stuff we face on a daily basis in the meantime. When the world rips away our hope, the Word restores it. Jesus\u2019 resurrection restores it. Hope isn\u2019t dead because Jesus isn\u2019t! \u201cPraise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead, and into an inheritance that can never perish, spoil or fade. This inheritance is kept in heaven for you\u201d (1 Peter 1:3-4)<\/em><\/strong>. Our hope in Jesus is very much alive because Jesus is very much alive!<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

(Luke 24:13-35) When is the last time you were disappointed that something didn\u2019t turn out the way you had hoped? Was it something you initiated or coordinated, an event or small get-together that took a good amount of planning and purchasing to pull off, but for one reason or another, it fell short? Was it… Continue reading Hope Restored<\/span> →<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_jetpack_newsletter_access":"","_jetpack_dont_email_post_to_subs":false,"_jetpack_newsletter_tier_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paywalled_content":false,"_jetpack_feature_clip_id":0,"_jetpack_memberships_contains_paid_content":false,"footnotes":"","jetpack_publicize_message":"","jetpack_publicize_feature_enabled":true,"jetpack_social_post_already_shared":true,"jetpack_social_options":{"image_generator_settings":{"template":"highway","default_image_id":0,"font":"","enabled":false},"version":2},"jetpack_post_was_ever_published":false},"categories":[65],"tags":[119,81,5,109,120,36,108],"class_list":["post-1101","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-sermons","tag-easter","tag-hope","tag-jesus","tag-preaching","tag-resurrection","tag-sermon","tag-teaching"],"jetpack_publicize_connections":[],"jetpack_sharing_enabled":true,"jetpack_shortlink":"https:\/\/wp.me\/p842FN-hL","jetpack_likes_enabled":true,"jetpack-related-posts":[],"jetpack_featured_media_url":"","_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=1101"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1105,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1101\/revisions\/1105"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=1101"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=1101"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/1thingmatters.com\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=1101"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}