Hope

On this day thousands of years ago, the disciples had lost all hope. Can you imagine what it must have been like for them? After leaving their whole lives behind to follow this Messiah, after traveling and ministering with Him for three years, after trusting Him to do everything He promised them He would do, they had just watched their Lord being beaten and contemptuously spit on. (Matthew 26:67)  They had watched Him drag His own heavy cross up the hill to Calvary like a slave. ( John 19:17) They had watched in horror as some heartless Roman pounded nails through His hands and feet. (John 19:18) They had watched Him struggle to breathe on that terrible cross for hours until He finally died, taking all their hopes and dreams for the future along with Him. (John 19:30) They had seen it with their own eyes, and there was no denying that.

But there was so much they didn't know then. You and I can describe the ordeal in three short sentences: "He died. He was buried. He rose on the third day." But can you imagine how long those days were for those who had loved and trusted Him? Grief has a way of slowing time almost to a stop. Every creeping moment is pure pain. When a dream is lost, all that is left seems worthless and empty. In their heartbreak, they forgot everything He had promised them before. They expected to be saved in a certain way, and when it didn't happen that way, they despaired. To them, death was the ultimate defeat, because that's just the way things always had been.  But Jesus came to change things. His entire life on earth was proof of that.

Like the disciples, I strive daily to surrender all in order to follow Him. I have entrusted  to Him the most precious desires of my heart. But I have to admit that He has not always delivered me, provided for me, or loved me in the ways I expected Him to. There have been times when standing on His promises seemed to make no sense at all, because what my eyes saw said there was no hope. What my eyes saw told me it was all over. And every time I doubted, He took me back to the cross. But, like Mary Magdalene in the garden, sometimes I haven't even recognized Him at first, because His appearance at that moment was so unexpected. (John 20:15-16)

Here's what I've learned: If He promised, He will deliver, period. Even when all the facts say otherwise, the only evidence you need will ever need is the hope you will find in Christ. If you stand with your head hung in despair, you will never see His love for you as He hung on the cross. If you look back at all you think you've lost, you will never see Him standing before you at the empty tomb. If you are too busy lamenting over how you wish things had happened in your life, you will never stop talking long enough to hear Him speaking.

I encourage you to reflect on your journey with Jesus today. Think about where He's brought you from. Think about where He's promised to take you. And tomorrow, on that glorious day, go to the empty tomb and find Him. Wait expectantly and listen, and tell me-what's He saying to you?

Father, thank You for Your great and limitless love! Thank You for Jesus, who truly surrendered all so that I can know You. Help me to be mindful of His sacrifice today. Help me never to pigeonhole my faith, but to always think outside of the box, expectantly and thankfully waiting for You to faithfully fulfill Your promises to me. Thank You, Lord, for the miraculous joy of Easter!

In His eternal love,

Amy

copyright 2010, Amy Wallace