And He said to them, “What things?” So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel. Indeed, besides all this, today is the third day since these things happened.
Memory Verse: looking unto Jesus, the author and finisher of our faith, who for the joy that was set before Him endured the cross, despising the shame, and has sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Hebrews 12:2
Have you ever heard the saying ‘we only see what we want to see’? Sounds really funny right; I mean how can we only see what we really want to see when somethings are clearly obvious but we pretend not to see them? The things that seems so obvious and clear to you may be something that is causing confusion amongst other people and this is often due to the direction in which we are looking from.
Today’s bible passage is a very interesting one as it tells us about a conversation Jesus had with two disheartened disciples He appeared to after His resurrection from the dead. These two men were having a conversation about the death of Jesus without knowing they were conversing with Jesus Himself. More interestingly is the way they described Jesus, they projected Jesus as a prophet who was condemned to death by the chief priest and rulers of the earth but they were filled with hope thinking Jesus was sent to redeem Israel. But because their understanding of Israel’s redemption was based on immediate earthly kingdom, with Jesus crucified, they now doubted that Christ was truly their messiah.
Their focus was on earthly kingdom and as such we see that their understanding of Jesus was capped due to the direction they were looking. The death of Jesus seemed to have given them a blow on the face, dashed their hopes and shattered their expectations. Their weak minds was revealed in the measure of doubt they exhibited and that doubt continued to lurk in their minds as they continued in their conversation with Jesus.
These men obviously believed in the words they heard from Jesus while He was still alive and believed in Him for salvation but they had not yet learnt to live by faith. They did not understand that the death of Jesus on the cross was the one time sacrifice needed for their soul to be redeemed from the power of sin, Hebrews 7:27. The death of Jesus is the road to salvation, the road they had been hoping for but they were not looking in that direction.
Like those two disciples, despite Christ being with us, many of us only see things one way and because of that, when things happen in our lives we become destabilized and disoriented. Many become incapable of functioning well, failing to look at those things happening for what they truly are. As a result, we become a little more discouraged by the day but if only we can change directional focus and look towards what God is truly trying to tell us or do for us. Then we will realise that even the down times we experience in our lives are all in line with God’s big plan.
If we learn to live by faith through the word of God, walk in spirit and truth then we will not rely on our own interpretation or understanding of things around us when things happen but rather we will fully trust and rely on God in every situation knowing that if this is happening and God permitted it then He will be glorified and will end as a blessing for us.
All things will always work together for our own good when we start learning to trust Him more Romans 8:28. There is an opportunity in every situation but we may never be able to see those opportunities unless we change direction and begin to see things through the wisdom of God.
Keep looking unto Jesus. Let that be your direction and focus!
PRAYERS:
- Father I thank you for you for bringing us safely to the end of August
- Thank you for the new quarter ahead and for the amazing things you have in stock for me
- Help me to trust in you totally Lord, looking unto you always, the author and finisher of my faith
- I renounce reliance on my own understanding from today and receive strength to stay strong in the midst of chaos, trusting in you totally that you are working it together for my good
- Thank You Jesus for it is well with me
- Forgive my sins o Lord and receive my sacrifice of praise, AMEN.
