By Mike Gordon
When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. (Luke 23:48-49)
Hope is simply to cherish a desire with anticipation. Hope is what Jesus’ disciples and his friends would have had after hearing him teach on establishing a new kingdom here on earth. Hope that the days of being oppressed under the Roman Empire would soon be over. Hope that shalom would finally reign amongst them. As they committed their lives to pursue this hope, they were left standing in the distance, staring at a blood-stained cross.
In life we all have these moments where we anticipate God to move a certain way, but when it doesn’t work out the way we anticipated, we lose hope. We lose hope in our dreams, in our job, in our finances, or in our marriage. Sometimes we lose hope in ourselves, sometimes we lose hope in God. We feel broken, confused, and forsaken like those who followed Jesus did. We think, “It wasn’t supposed to be like this.”
Life can only be understood backwards, but it must be lived forwards. It is easy to focus on the blood-stained cross when we have yet to see the empty tomb.
Question
What have you given up on in life and declared dead because you have yet to see the victory in the end?
Prayer
Father God, may you reveal to us the things of you which we have lost our hope in. Although we don’t see how everything will look tomorrow, we trust that tomorrow is in your hands. In between the blood-stained cross and empty-tomb moments of our lives, please renew this hope within us. Amen.