Hopeless?

“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

There are certain moments in Scripture that I so wish I could have been present for, a fly on the wall, if you will. As I’ve been reading through the book of Luke, rehearsing the life of Christ on earth and all the events surrounding His death, burial, and resurrection, I came across this familiar passage in Luke 24: “On the road to Emmaus.”

Two of Christ’s followers were walking the seven-mile journey from Jerusalem to Emmaus the very day of the resurrection of Jesus, discussing the catastrophic events of the previous days. Jesus, the One they loved and had followed had been brutally murdered for the world to see, buried, and now, just days later, there was “talk” of His resurrection, “talk” that they seriously doubted. I can only imagine their disposition as they walked – discouraged, hopeless, tired, weary, and confused. All that they had put their hope in now seemed lost. And although the women professed to have seen an empty tomb and even had an angelic visit, the doubt in their hearts was made extremely clear in their words to Jesus in verse 21: “…we had hoped…”

I think what amazes me most about this story (Luke 24:13-35) is that they never recognized Him as they walked together and listened to Him recount all that Scripture has to say about Christ. Verse 16 says that “their eyes were kept from recognizing Him.” Which leads me to this point:

Doubt veils the eyes of our hearts from hope.

I am convinced that one of the greatest successes of the enemy is getting us to doubt who Christ is and what He has done. His own followers that knew and loved Him well didn’t even recognize Him as He walked alongside of them because doubt filled their hearts, which lead to hopelessness. What causes you to doubt? Is it the unknown? Is it difficult circumstances? And has doubt led you down the road of hopelessness? I want to remind you today of the hope that is available to ALL who are in Christ. His power to defeat sin and death through the cross and the resurrection – THAT POWER is in us as followers of Christ. We have access to that very power in Christ, the power to overcome sin in our own lives. HOPE is restored! HOPE is alive! The moment that these two men in Luke 24 recognized Jesus was the very moment that their hope in Him was restored.

Perhaps we need to refocus today. In Jesus, we have hope. In Christ, we have joy. In Him, our slumped shoulders and weary hearts are raised and resurrected to new life. Open your eyes. He is at work in this world. He is all around you. He is present in your struggle. He is near in your pain. He is here. And in Him, hope is found.

Find hope, my soul, in God alone. He is my refuge and strength. He is my strong tower. He is my portion, my satisfaction, and my joy. Hope in Him.