Devastation to hope

 

One of my favourite songs is O Praise the Name of the Lord our God and I was listening to it, the line:

His body bound and drenched in tears

They laid him down in Joseph’s tomb

I was struck afresh at the terrible devastation the disciples and the women must have felt as Jesus hung on the cross and then died. His body would indeed have been drenched in tears as those close to him wept inconsolably over him. The agony and complete incomprehension of what they were witnessing, must have left them overwhelmed with grief.  

Only a week before, Jesus had been welcomed into Jerusalem with shouts and palm branches – a royal welcome to the King coming into his city. Now, those same people had turned on him and bayed for him to be crucified. Imagine the horror his friends must have felt as Jesus had an unfair trial and then their precious Messiah was flogged, mocked and forced to carry his own cross. All through the six hours that Jesus hung there, I am sure they were praying, willing him to come down off the cross and show those mockers that he is the King, the Messiah.

Instead, he died. ‘I just don’t get it,’ would have been the understatement they felt. Jesus had told them several times that this would happen, but they had either forgotten or not believed him. Certainly no one was expecting a resurrection on that first day of the week. The women went to the tomb to anoint a precious but dead body, not to see a risen Jesus. Even when he appeared to the women, the disciples were slow to believe, because it just seemed unbelievable. 

Enter the two men on the road to Emmaus, later that same resurrection day (Luke 24: 13 – 35). They were discussing all that had gone on and trying to make sense of the perplexing circumstances. My favourite part of their incomprehension is, but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. Jesus, unknown to them, had joined them and explained to them what had been prophesied and what they had just witnessed. They had put their hope in the right place, even though it didn’t look like it.

I then wondered what would have happened if these two disciples had not urged Jesus strongly to stay with them? Suppose when Jesus continued as if he were going further, they had just wished him well, thanked him for the fellowship on the road and gone indoors. Jesus didn’t push himself on them but if they hadn’t urged him, they would never have experienced the grande finale of their day. They would have missed Jesus opening their eyes to see who he was and the reality that he was indeed risen from the dead, alive and well and breaking bread with them. All their hopes of Jesus being the Messiah, the risen Lord that had been dashed over the weekend, were restored.

Now, filled with the excitement of knowing for themselves that Jesus was indeed the Messiah and was risen from the dead, they didn’t hang around in Emmaus. They hot-footed it back the seven miles to Jerusalem, the place of disappointment but with their hearts full of expectancy and hope, to share the good news with the disciples.

Jesus never forces relationship on us whether it be when our hearts are first turned to him at salvation, or when we have been saved umpteen years, but are still burning to know him better. As we urge him to stay, he will linger and have communion with us.

We may have experienced the most awful tragedy in our life, but we always have hope with Jesus. When we urge him to remain and abide with us, to speak to us, to have fellowship with us, to explain, he never disappoints. He will always stay, comfort and give us hope. The devastation of our Good Friday can turn into the hope and new life of Easter Sunday. 

Overcoming disappointment

Then you will know that I am the Lord; those who hope in me will not be disappointed. Isaiah 49: 23

It was a hot, sunny, summer Sunday and an ice cream was just what was needed and not just any ice cream but a proper delicious ice cream cone. So after a quick Google search we found what appeared to be just the thing – Dawlishious ice cream – straight from a farm of Jersey dairy cows. It even had the little knife and fork symbol on the map to denote it was an eatery. Perfect.

The last time we ate ice cream straight from the farm was in America at Richardson’s Farm and Ice Cream Emporium – a massive establishment that served cones and sundaes in 30+ flavours from a multitude of serving hatches.

Now I didn’t expect something quite like that but I did have in mind a small shop serving ice cream cones with maybe a few tables under umbrellas to sit and enjoy our treat. Mrs Google guided us to our destination but when we arrived there was nothing but the farm – no ice cream place. We turned around and made a second pass and found in the farmyard a garden shed from which one could purchase tubs of ice cream in a variety of flavours. No cones, no tables or umbrellas, no one serving just a shed with a freezer and a phone number for service.

The cup of disappointment was deep – my expectations had far exceeded the reality.

Unfortunately that can be the case with life. Too often our expectations, based on previous experiences, far outweigh the reality and set us up for the fall of disappointment. Of course life’s disappointments come in far larger measure than my ‘no show’ ice cream parlour. In fact just recently I have been amazed at how often I expect things to turn out a certain way either because that is ‘always’ how it happens or because that is what happened last time and then find that something completely different occurs.

So how do we cope with life’s disappointments especially the hard ones, the big ones, the life changing ones? How do we deal when a spouse walks out of a marriage that we had such high hopes for or a child who made a commitment to the Lord when younger has now turned their back on God and is not just into a secular life but one dominated by alcohol or drugs? Or in my case when Church and Church leaders have behaved or done things that are not what would expect from Christians?

Unfortunately, over many years, I have been part of churches where leaders and other Christians have behaved in such ungodly ways. I have seen weak leaders overcome by sin and selfish ambition struggling with addictions and the devil’s favourite traps of fame, fortune and females. How do we deal with these situations?

Personally I was so disappointed, hope had disappeared and I was overwhelmed by the great British disease of cynicism. I wasn’t looking for perfection but I did expect leaders of integrity who would honestly seek God and try to the best of their ability to lead their churches into God’s plans and purposes. Churches filled with the power of the Spirit, walking in the fruit and gifts of the Spirit – not churches full of lies, self-ambition and naked sin.

I was sitting in a huge pit of disappointment struggling with hopelessness and a strong desire to give up. I expect we can all identify with this in our own disappointments. BUT God – he didn’t want me to give up, he still had plans and purposes for my life so as I prayed and wept over the frustration and disillusionment I found he is indeed the God of all hope and to him I turned.

Gradually he guided me to people of wise counsel, some encouraging podcasts and messages on the internet till I was ready to make the decision to not dwell in my pit but choose to trust God and let him lift me up on wings like eagles. I turned a corner and where I had found situations almost impossible to engage with I now found things shifting. The situation hadn’t changed – I had.

Life is full of disappointments – big and very small.  We can blame these circumstances for our cynicism and hopelessness or we can turn to our God of all hope to heal our wounded hearts and show us the way out – upwards and onwards. 

I truly pray you will find God in the midst of your disappointments to be the God of hope whose love and encouragement will spur you on to not give up, not give in:

And let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, ² fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy that was set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. ³ Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart. Hebrews 12: 1 – 3

Jesus is the Son of God

On the terrible day that Jesus was crucified on the cross, it must have tested the faith of all his disciples and followers to the core. Despite Jesus telling them several times that this was exactly what was going to happen, the reality of it just hadn't sunk in.

Why was Jesus, the Son of God, the Messiah being crucified like the common criminals that hung on his left and right? Surely if he was the Son of God the angels would come and rescue him or why did he not just come down from the cross like his mockers suggested?

How terrible to not just witness Jesus' crucifixion but to have to listen to the taunts and scorn being heaped upon him by the religious leaders and passersby.

Many believers must have turned away from Jesus that day. Their faith was tested and they gave in to doubt and unbelief. By the day of Pentecost there was only 120 believers left praying. Where was everyone else? Jesus had spent three years miraculously ministering to every hopeless situation and circumstance, teaching thousands about their loving heavenly Father yet at the sight of Jesus on the cross, most abandoned him.

Even when darkness covered the earth. Even when Jesus cried out in a loud voice as he gave up his spirit which was impossible for a dying man suffocating  on a cross. Even when the temple curtain was torn in two from top to bottom, no one expected anything more from the Son of God. That was it - all over. 

The brave Joseph of Arimathea just wanted to give him the best burial possible in his own brand new tomb. It took courage to go to Pilate to ask for the body. Having buried him he sealed the tomb to make sure no one got in and desecrated it. The faithful women wanted to make sure his body was properly embalmed either that day or after the Sabbath. Even the guards were only placed to make sure the sealed tomb could not be broken into because the religious leaders did not want the disciples faking a resurrection.

No criminal crucifixion though, no sealed tomb, no guards, no disbelieving disciples or followers could stop Jesus rising in triumph from the dead because Jesus is the Son of God. What God has purposed will happen. Jesus overcame sin and death and made a way for everyone born on the planet to come and know their loving heavenly Father and Creator - just as planned. 

Father forgive us when we lose faith in the face of difficulties that seem overwhelming. Help us to persevere and trust you because you are the Christ, the Son of the living God and nothing is impossible for you. Amen.

Be still and know that I am God

Be still, and know that I am God;
      I will be exalted among the nations,
      I will be exalted in the earth.  Psalm 46: 10

One of my favourite books of the Bible is Isaiah.  His gift of beautiful poetry and wonderful use of words is an inspiration. However Isaiah lived during some very troubled times in the kingdom of Judah and he must have experienced great highs and lows during his ministry.

The early chapters of Isaiah were written during the reign of King Ahaz, a wicked king of Judah who did not follow in the path of King David.  He reigned in the troubled times of the Assyrians whose total warfare of terror, destruction and deportation was both brutal and barbaric.  The surrounding nations of Syria or Aram and the northern kingdom of Israel suffered greatly at their hands. Indeed it was the Assyrians who took Israel into exile as God had promised because of their unfaithfulness to him.

These were truly terrible days and King Ahaz did all he could to appease the Assyrians but to no avail. Isaiah kept urging him to seek the Lord, turn back to him because only he could help. Instead King Ahaz closed the temple and set up his own altar which he had built modelled on one he had seen and liked in Damascus (II Kings 16).

Nevertheless, in the midst of all this, Isaiah prophesies one of his most famous and frequently read encouragements found in Isaiah 9. At Christmas we usually hear and read just Isaiah 9: 2, 6 – 7 because this is the most obvious prophecy about the Messiah but the first seven verses of the chapter taken together were indeed a source of great encouragement in the dark days of King Ahaz’s reign.

God promised through Isaiah that the northern lands of Zebulun, Naphtali and Galilee which had suffered terribly at the hands of the Assyrians would one day be greatly honoured. This of course was fulfilled during Jesus’ ministry there. God promised the people who were walking in the darkness of despair that a light will dawn, that the yoke of oppression will be broken and all the tools of warfare will be burnt.

This will happen because a child will be born, a royal child from the house of David who will rule with justice and righteousness for ever. ‘The zeal of the Lord Almighty will accomplish this.’ God will make sure this happens and he has. He has sent his son Jesus who even now is reigning in glory and will one day return to the earth to establish his kingdom on earth for ever.

In the midst of despair and terror, God spoke words of life and hope to the Jewish people. God never left them even when they were eventually taken off into exile; he is indeed Immanuel God with us.

In the midst of our trials and difficulties, no matter their source, he will speak words of life and hope to us if we will be still and know He is God.

God of all hope

May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you trust in him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit. Romans 15: 13

Hope is as essential to our lives as the air we breathe. Without hope, life begins to shut down and close in. For the Christian, hope is not an optimistic wish for future things but hope is a trust in the goodness of God; that despite the circumstances, God is good and will bring forth good things.  

Most Christians, I am sure, would agree with this but for some there can be areas of our life where hope has died and when that happens it is as if we close the door to any further hope in that area to save ourselves from future disappointment. There are many areas where this could happen but some examples are being single, childlessness, bereavement and grief, separation and divorce, church life and ministry, unemployment and failure. So often it feels like hope has been dashed and in order to function, we put our lost hope and disappointment into a room and close the door.

However God does not want us to have closed doors in our lives as they can lead to further difficulties and a bitterness of spirit. The only way to keep the door open on our deep hurts and disappointments is to establish in our own lives that God is good and has good things for his children. As Steve Backlund says, ‘hope expects and knows that things will ultimately work out in a good way.’

Whatever has happened is not because God is punishing us. God has not stopped loving us and God does not want to teach us a lesson in a negative sense. Some of these past hurts may have come about because we have made poor choices or even sinned. God wants to bring healing and hope again into these areas.

Today if fear is gripping your heart and you dare not trust God in an area where you have lost hope, start with this declaration and prayer:

God I trust you because you are a good God and want only good things for my life. I am so sorry if I have in any way caused these difficulties but I will not blame anyone for what has happened. I forgive any who have been instrumental in what has happened including myself. Today I choose to believe that you will bring good out of this. I open the door of my hurt to your healing love and restoration and I receive your hope. In Jesus Name Amen.

 

 

 

God's ways are perfect

This is what the Lord says: “When seventy years are completed for Babylon, I will come to you and fulfil my gracious promise to bring you back to this place.  ¹¹ For I know the plans I have for you,” declares the Lord, “plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future. ¹² Then you will call upon me and come and pray to me, and I will listen to you. ¹³ You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart.  ¹⁴I will be found by you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back from captivity I will gather you from all the nations and places where I have banished you,” declares the Lord, “and will bring you back to the place from which I carried you into exile.” Jeremiah 29: 10 – 14

We are all very familiar with verse 11 of this famous passage from Jeremiah but let’s take a look at the verse that precedes it. Jeremiah had sent a letter to the exiles in Babylon from Jerusalem where he was still living with those who had not been taken into exile. He gives them the devastating news that they are going to be in Babylon for 70 years. They had hoped they would return very soon and now for most of them, they knew they would never see Jerusalem again.

This is why verse 11 is so important both to the Jewish people then and to us because even in the midst of great disappointments when all our hopes and plans have evaporated God still has plans to prosper us and give us a hope and a future. God assured the Jews that he would bring them back from exile but many would know it would be their children and not them who would return.

They were in an unenviable position as they had no choice but to stay in Babylon – they could not go back to Jerusalem. God told them through Jeremiah’s letter to settle down, build houses and build a new life for themselves. They could choose though how they lived in Babylon; bitter and disappointed or believing that God did indeed have good plans for them.

Sometimes when things do not work out the way we had hoped especially in churches, the temptation is to get up and leave. Sometimes this is the right thing to do but often it is not. Leaving a church is never easy and should not be done lightly. We leave because God says it is time to move on not because someone has hurt and disappointed us. God brought his people back to Jerusalem in his timing and God will move us when it is right for us.

I have learned so much through the difficult and disappointing church moments even though I have not enjoyed them. Underlying the difficulties and disappointments is the thread that God has good plans for my life and I can trust him. So whatever the situation we are facing, wait for God and look to him for guidance, affirmation and approval. He will not let us down and his timing really is perfect.

Where there is no vision

Where there is no vision, the people perish Proverbs 29: 18

People with no vision just cannot see things no matter what you say. It is like a mist over their eyes. Today we went to a very beautiful part of the country and were told that the views were magnificent but we couldn’t see it because there was a heavy sea mist!  Fortunately the mist cleared, the sun came out and we discovered for ourselves how lovely the views were.

People with no vision are like that – no matter how much you try and explain what you know to be true they cannot see it. This can be the case for those who do not know the Lord yet. We try and explain how wonderful God is and how much he loves us but they just cannot see it. They need the Holy Spirit to blow away the mists of misunderstanding, deception, doubt and unbelief so they can see for themselves that what you say is true.  

However it can also be a problem for Christians who desperately need the revelation of God’s ways and vision for the future. Too often we are hampered by doubts and disappointments from the past when things may have not worked out the way we had hoped or when people have let us down.  We too need the Holy Spirit to blow away our doubts and disappointments and give us fresh vision so we can see the way ahead that God has planned for us.

As the verse shows, no vision means people perish – they have nothing to live for. Of course this does not necessarily mean literally but people’s hopes and dreams die when there is no vision. People’s faith begins to wither when there is no sense of purpose, calling or destiny. God wants us to have vision so let’s blow the dust off our past hopes and dreams and look afresh at what God has spoken over our lives. Let’s renew our destiny and calling.

I encourage you to go back and look at things that God has spoken directly to you or maybe others have told you and let God re-envision you with his hope and his plans for your future.

God's good plans

For I know the plans I have for you declares the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future  Jeremiah 29:11

I was reminded the other day of some great plan I had for our lives that I thought would bring us happiness. It never happened and would not have brought us the happiness I was looking for. That reminded me of some other ideas that we had unsuccessfully tried; none of which I am glad to say succeeded.

God has great plans for our lives but there are two things they are not. One is a plan that is the same for everyone. We all have the same destination but how we get there has endless variety. Secondly there is not one way that is the ‘right’ one for us and everything else is outside the will of God. The will of God for our lives is not that narrow.

The path to salvation is narrow and is only through Jesus Christ. After that the variety of how we walk this earthly path is hugely diverse. If you imagine taking a journey from your home to a destination several hours away, there can be many different routes to take. There is the fast but often uninteresting motorway route. There is a way that takes in some towns and villages which can be beautiful but full of traffic jams or there is the country byways route which meanders through all sorts of beautiful places but takes forever.  None of these routes is ‘right’ and the others ‘wrong’. They all have merit and God does not approve one over another. God’s time frame is often very different from ours – fastest is not necessarily the best.

There may be times when God says that one particular way is ‘wrong’ for instance in Acts 16: 6 – 11, Paul and his companions wanted to go into Bithynia but the Holy Spirit blocked them from travelling there because he wanted them to go and help out in Macedonia. The Holy Spirit has several times blocked our plans either because they are not good for us or usually because he has a far better plan.

God’s plans for our lives are good but there may be a variety of ways to achieve this. If we choose one way over another God will bless either and if we trust him he will keep us from things that will do us harm or take us on an unnecessary and undesirable diversions. The only time I have seen people following disastrous plans has been when they have not involved God in their choices or tried to work out God’s plans and purposes for their lives by themselves. God can even rectify these if we humbly come to him for forgiveness.

God is building character and fruit into our lives and turning us into the likeness of Jesus. There is an endless variety of ways he does this. We do not have to fear missing out on anything if we trust God and we can trust him that no matter how we achieve them, his plans are the best.  

The road to Emmaus

It was on that first Easter day, the first day of the week after the crucifixion of Jesus that two downcast and disappointed disciples were walking away from Jerusalem to a village called Emmaus. The only thing they could talk about was the events of the weekend; the crucifixion of Jesus, the awful sense of loss and disappointment and the dashing of all their hopes. Into this conversation comes Jesus unbeknown to them.

I love this story because as I said in this blog on 21^st February (hope does not disappoint us), the two disciples had everything they needed to give them hope. The evidence was there but it just needed Jesus to come and make sense of it for them.

I have had times when circumstances seem to have gone all wrong. I know the theory that God never leaves or forsakes us, that God is utterly reliable and can be trusted so why was everything so awful?  On one of those occasions, when those dear to me had been disappointed and let down, I felt so devastated. It seemed God had just walked away and left us high and dry at a most important time and I could not make sense of it. Then suddenly God appeared and I was led to Psalm 13 which starts, ‘How long O Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? This psalm ends, but I trust in your unfailing love, my heart rejoices in your salvation. I will sing to the Lord for he has been good to me.’ This became a raw confession of faith that God is good and will not let us down. Despite the circumstances to the contrary God had not left us and his unfailing love was just that, unfailing. Jesus had appeared in our midst and hope and faith arose. Without any evidence to support it, faith had arrived and said all would be well – and it was. It was the final battle before the breakthrough but the breakthrough was promised and a few days later it arrived.

Those disciples were hanging on by their finger nails trying to make sense of the circumstances of Jesus’ death. Jesus came and walked with them and as he explained all the pieces came together. Finally revelation came to them that it was the risen Lord himself who was with them. Immediately, though it was now dark, they hurried back up the road of disappointment to the place of defeat but they went in great victory and they shared their news with the fearful disciples. Jesus then came and presenced himself in their midst. All was well.  

Today if you are facing circumstances that just do not make sense, let me assure you God has not abandoned you and he can be trusted. He will bring good out of our darkest hours. He will bring revelation and enlightenment to those things that are baffling him. Take heart – God is with us.

Hope does not disappoint us

 'And hope does not disappoint us, because God has poured out (and continues to pour out) his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit, whom he has given us.'   Romans 5:5 

my words in brackets

Disappointment is one of the most crippling conditions known to man as it saps hope from our lives.  Without hope, life is very dismal.  In the Bible hope does not refer to an optimistic anticipation of some future event; hope is the sure expectation of God doing what he has promised which is why Paul was able to say so confidently that hope does not disappoint us.

Disappointment happens when we place our hope on anything other than God; exam results, career prospects, winning the lottery, getting married, having children, the pastor promoting our ministry, children looking after us in our old age, good health.  When we place our hope on these sorts of things all goes well till they let us down as they inevitably will. Then our world collapses and disappointment floods in.

As it says in Proverbs 13:12 ,’hope deferred makes the heart sick.’   Disappointment causes us to pull back from God and other people.  We feel like we have put our hope out there and we have become vulnerable and now we have been let down.  It makes us wary of trusting people and God and so we lose our expectation and hope to protect ourselves from further disappointment.

However Paul assures us that hope (the confident expectation of God’s goodness) will not disappoint us.  The two disciples on the road to Emmaus after Jesus’ death and resurrection were terribly disappointed (Luke 24:13 – 35).  They said to the risen Lord, not realising who he was, ‘but we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel’ (verse 21).  They had placed their hope in God but were still disappointed – why?  They explain to Jesus in great detail why they were disappointed but these very reasons should have been a source of hope not disappointment!  Jesus though was there in the midst and explained it all to them and then revelation comes!  They realise that Jesus himself has been with them all the time.  The very person they had hoped in, had not disappointed them.

If you are sitting with disappointment weighing heavily on you, take it to Jesus. Explain to him exactly why you are disappointed and let him bring you his hope in the midst of it.  You may have been placing your hope on things or people other than Jesus or you may just have misunderstood his workings in your life. 

 

Let God restore hope to you today and let him pour out and continue to pour out his love into our hearts by the Holy Spirit.

I am being prepared for greater things in the days ahead.

 I am sure we are all familiar with Jeremiah 29:11, ‘For I know the plans I have for you says the Lord; plans to prosper you and not to harm you, plans to give you hope and a future.’ God spoke these encouraging words when the Israelites had been sent into exile and were probably wondering if they would ever go back home or if there was any hope for the future. Even in that situation God had good plans for his people.

In the same way, God really does have good things lined up for each of us.  Any parent wants the best for their children.  They invest all they can in education, training, character formation, helping them develop every skill they will need for the future.  They help their children develop their gifts and talents and teach them the skills of life and how to handle situations that may come their way.  Earthly parents often do not have much idea of what the future holds but they do their best to guide their children to be the best equipped they can be for what might lie ahead. 

If we then who are imperfect, who have limited resources and knowledge, will do that for our children, how much more will our loving heavenly Father who has all the resources and is omniscient (knowing everything) lead and guide his children into the future.  We can trust God to know what is best for us and he does know how to get us to our goal.  We can trust God with our destiny confident that he knows each of us intimately, knows our gifts and abilities and how best to use them.

It is important to have confidence in the future while enjoying and making the most of today.  It is even more important to be confident about the future if today is not going well.  If we sink into thinking that tomorrow may be worse than today and that all our tomorrows are destined for a steady decline into mediocrity and failure, depression will quickly grip us. God uses everything, the good and the bad, our successes and our failures to draw us deeper into his love and his plans. Everything that is happening today may be being used in preparation for what is coming in the future. 

If God really does have wonderful plans for our lives to give us a hope and a future, then whether today is a good or not so good day, we can be optimistic knowing that our loving heavenly Father holds our hands and our future.  Greater things await us.