Apr
28
Written by:
Pastor Jesse Nicholson
4/28/2011 7:06 AM
Remember when you were a “kid” and you had certain expectations of say your summer vacation, a trip to an amusement park, seeing your dad on the weekend or any number of situations? You would get so excited about whatever it was that you were going to do. Did you ever have those expectations shattered? It can leave a deep wound from which many will never recover.
Now, imagine the Lord’s disciples. Their Teacher, Master, Friend and “Savior” had just been crucified and placed in a tomb. You get the full feeling from the disciples who were on the road to Emmaus. They were crushed. They expected Jesus to set up His kingdom and remove the oppressive ruling of the Romans. He was their hope! Now He was gone. Or was He? That was God’s plan all along. That’s what Jesus spent His time explaining to them on that road to Emmaus. He took the Old Testament and expounded it to them. He told them what it said about “Himself.” What a great Bible lesson it must have been. (The Word Himself describing what it all means.) And still they didn’t seem to get it. It wasn’t until He revealed Himself to them at the dinner table that their eyes were opened and then He disappeared.
What lessons are wrapped up in that resurrection account? Let me name just a few: 1)God is in control of all our circumstances. He is working all things out for “good to them that love God, to those who are called according to His purpose.” 2)Our faith is often based upon our emotions and what makes us feel good (i.e. our plans working out as we see them). As long as we base spiritual decisions on emotion, we’ll always have doubt. God has given us His Word to reveal Himself to us (objective truth). We can have complete confidence in His plan for our lives. When you are going through a bout with cancer, it’s part of God’s plan. When you expect a raise at work, but it does not come, it’s part of God’s plan. Nothing ever takes God by surprise. Trust Him through all of life. You will find that that rollercoaster is a little more comfortable when you do.