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Looking down at the ground again?
I do it all the time.
Maybe for some folks faith is natural and easy, but I sometimes find it
very difficult to accept the stresses and hardships of life's tribulations
as an ok thing. I really lose it sometimes -- usually just when God is
about to unfold a miracle in answer to my prayers.
God always has a plan.
I know that God has a plan, but I just don't always "feel" like the plan
is really working out for me. So I sometimes miss the very best part of
any lesson or testing in life -- the inner joy and peace that should be
mine, even when things around me get unpleasant.
I must not be completely alone in this, though. I saw something a while
back in the Gospel of Luke that reminds me a lot of myself.
The passage points to a couple of guys who are walking down the road.
They're on their way to a community outside of Jerusalem, a village not
far away. The weather may have been very pleasant. There may've been birds
singing and chattering up in the trees along the road. But these two men
were not paying any attention to any of that. Everything meaningful to
them had just been snatched up, dashed to the ground, and then trampled
down into the mud -- by the arrest, trial, and cruel execution of a single
man: their King and Savior and Messiah.
Scripture says: "And they talked together about all the things that had
occurred. Now it happened as they talked and tried to make sense of
things, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes
were held down, so that they did not recognize Him." (Luke 24:14-16)
I don't know if it's possible for any of us today to know just how these
two men felt. We all lose loved ones, precious human lives that are dear
to us. But these men had seen something more in Jesus than a friend.
In Jesus they had seen God Himself reaching out in love and compassion to
the most common of people. They had seen a promise in Jesus of glorious
things: a restored nation, a whole new way of life, and a great kingdom
that would never fade away. They had dared to hope that better days and
years were just ahead for them, for their communities, and for their own
children. It would be a whole new world.
But then those who hated Jesus had come and forcefully hauled Jesus away
-- in the middle of the night. And then He was beaten and mocked and spat
upon during an illegal trial. And then He was given to the Romans where He
was beaten and ridiculed again by wicked and arrogant Roman soldiers.
All of this was wrong in every possible way! The people who followed Jesus
had no doubt cried out for God to send forth His holy angels in flaming
chariots to rescue Him, and to set everything right. Or maybe they were so
stunned that they simply waited, feeling powerless against their own
religious authorities and the unbreakable political powers that now held
Jesus' life completely in their hands.
In less than twenty-four hours the whole tragedy had unfolded for the
whole world to see. The Blessed Teacher, Jesus of Nazareth, who had become
the very Christ, the promised Messiah, to so many people, was now dead.
Religious leaders had declared Him to be guilty -- of blasphemy, of all
things. The Roman watchdog, Pontius Pilate, had openly declared Jesus to
be totally innocent of state crimes -- and certainly innocent of any crime
deserving of death. Yet he soon gave in to the political pressures of
those who demanded that Jesus be publicly executed. So Jesus was taken
outside the city walls and crucified in full view of passing traffic -- as
was the typical Roman custom among the troublesome provinces.
That was several days ago. And now these two men walked along a familiar
road, stripped of all their hopes, their cherished expectations. Talking
quietly among themselves of the terrible things that had unfolded, their
gaze was fixed on the ground in front of their feet. When Jesus Himself
joined them on the road, they had no idea that it was Him. To them, Jesus
was now a fading dream -- forever dead and gone.
Too often I can see this very thing in my own life. Even after I have
prayed earnestly for something, God's power and wonderful intervention
often catches me completely by surprise. "Wow, Lord, I really didn't
expect to see You here, at a time like this! I mean, I was just digging
this pit of pity and bitter regrets. In fact, I was right in the middle of
complaining about You -- wondering what on earth had happened to You." You
get the idea.
I can see in Luke's passage above that Jesus wasn't the One who kept these
men from seeing Him for who He was and is. Their own inner turmoil and
despair made them blind to God's power, God's unending love, and His
awesome Presence -- right there with them. They were looking down, focused
completely on the same old dirt of that same old road, instead of looking
up to witness the glory of God in the face of Jesus Christ.
Isn't that the way we are sometimes? Our attention is too often on the
stuff around us. So few of us ever have the good sense to just look up.
And in really difficult and confusing times, I never seem to be able to
look up without some help from my Lord Jesus.
But I know I'm not the only one who needs God's help to look up. In fact,
King David wrote:
"LORD, how are they increased that trouble me!
Many are they that rise up against me.
Many there be which say of my soul,
'There is no help for him in God.'
But thou, O LORD, art a shield for me;
My glory, and the lifter up of mine head."
(Psalm 3:1-3)
I can understand how easy it was for these two guys to miss the obvious.
Jesus was literally walking right there beside them, so that they could
reach right out and touch Him. And rather than rejoice in His presence --
embracing Him with joy -- they tried to convince Him of how bad things
were! They tried to make Him understand how their own hopes in the Messiah
had just been taken away by evil men.
Luke says that Jesus asked them, "What are you discussing with each other
as you walk along?"
They stopped, looking sad. Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas,
answered Him, "Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who doesn't know the
things that have taken place there in recent days?"
He asked them, "What things?"
They replied, "The things regarding Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet
mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how our own
chief priests and leaders handed Him over to be condemned to death, and
crucified Him. But we had even hoped that He was the One to redeem all
Israel." (Luke 24:17-21a)
Ever find yourself trying to help God understand just how bad things are?
Have you ever felt that He must not be able to see what life is really
like for you -- here in this world? That's how these fellows felt that
day. Walking and talking with Jesus, they only saw and heard a stranger
who obviously had no clue.
So where is Jesus when we really need Him?
He is among all who love His appearing. He is always with us -- right here
on the very road we always travel. And His presence reminds us that
everything is going according to God's plan. He knows our worries and
frustrations, all our deepest fears, and all about our fragile,
ever-waning hopes. He knows us, and understands when our hopes seem to
dwindle away with the setting sun.
No wonder the Scripture reminds us: "His compassions fail not. They are
new every morning. Great is Your faithfulness!" (Lamentations 3:22b-23)
God does not demand that we know or understand everything. We never need
to pretend to have all the answers. All we need to do is love and trust
the Lord Jesus, thanking God for Him. If we seek His Presence, we'll find
that He is right here where we are.
The Lord Jesus is never far away, nor is He a stranger to those who trust
in Him. He is truly our Lord and Keeper. The Lord Jesus is our triumphant
joy in the very darkest hours of our lives, because no matter what happens
today, we know that we will rise again to be with Him -- forever. And
God's forever always makes the temporary seem small.
So often I find myself trying to explain all my worries to Jesus. But He
never seems to be worried at all. Instead, He's often pointing things out
to me as we walk along. He shows me how He provides for the birds and the
flowers. He sends the rain, the snow, and the clear blue sky for us all.
And day by day He teaches me a song, even in the midst of a very troubled
world.
So I've been thinking.
I think that maybe when Jesus is speaking, I should be listening. When
He's reminding me of all the things He has already taught me, all the
wonderful things He's been doing in my life -- and all the promises of God
for those who love Him -- I should be listening and learning.
The two guys walking down the road to Emmaus that day became witnesses to
something wonderful. Yes, it was true that Jesus had been arrested,
falsely accused, and then murdered by an abuse of religious and political
authority. It was true that He had been placed in a grave, and that evil
had seemed to triumph over everything good and right and decent. But
something else was also true. It was true that Jesus had beaten death,
beaten the grave and hell itself, by the infinite power of God.
These two broken and lonely men, weighed down by bitter disappointments,
became witnesses to the eternal truth of Jesus Christ. He did not merely
send word to them by a messenger. He came and walked along the very road
that they were on that day. He was there to walk that lonely road with
them.
He still does the very same thing today. He does not simply send us a
message by way of letters and books. But He is alive, right here with us.
He's here among us. His life shines forth today, where we live, to show us
the way. His voice is steady when the road becomes dark and uneven. Jesus'
hand is right here to lift up our chins, so we can witness the eternal
power and love of God.
It's time to look up, don't you think? Look up now and turn your eyes upon
Jesus.
Jim |
