Dear Wondering-Why-What-You’d-Hoped-For-Didn’t-Happen

I read a story recently—a story involving two people who’d given up. They dared to hope, but their hopes turned into grief. They had placed their trust in a man who was on the other side of hope now—a man they thought would rescue them and redeem their nation.

He was unlike any man they’d ever met. He healed the sick. He spoke words of life. They were sure He was the promised One--the One they had prayed for and waited for throughout many generations.

But he was dead and buried now. They buried their hopes alongside the notion that this man had known or even cared.

Wallowing in grief and confusion, these two were met by a stranger. He hadn’t heard the news that this man they’d hoped in was dead. They told him they had hoped, but what they'd hoped for didn’t happen.

As they talked, the stranger began to explain truth they hadn’t heard before. He explained that the man they had trusted had other plans than they thought. He had plans to save their souls, not just their nation. His death meant forgiven sins, an eternal home, and a standing before God they could never earn for themselves. 

These were words they never thought they would hear. 

This was something better.

They invited him to eat with them. He broke the bread and blessed it. As he handed the bread to them, they saw scars in his hands—scars from a cruel death. Suddenly, they recognized Him. This Stranger was the Man they had hoped in. He was no longer dead!

What they’d hoped for didn’t happen. Instead, this Man accomplished what they never thought was possible. He did for them what they never dared to dream.

Dear Wondering-Why-What-You’d-Hoped-For-Didn’t-Happen,

This same Jesus will do something better.

Click here to listen to the lesson on The Road to Emmaus.