Hope

[Sue Johnson]

HOPE ----------
by Max Lucado

The scene recorded in Luke 24:13-24 fascinates me-two sincere disciples
walking along the dusty road to Emmaus telling how the last nail has
been driven in Israel's coffin. God, in disguise, listens patiently,
his wounded hands buried deeply in his robe. He must have been touched
at the faithfulness of this pair. Yet he also must have been a bit
chagrined. He had just gone to hell and back to give heaven to earth,
and these two were worried about the political situation of Israel.

“But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel.”

But we had hoped Â… How often have you heard a phrase like that?

“We were hoping the doctor would release him.”

“I had hoped to pass the exam.”

“We had hoped the surgery would get all the tumor.”

Words painted gray with disappointment. What we wanted didn't come.
What came, we didn't want. The result? Shattered hope.

We trudge up the road to Emmaus dragging our sandals in the dust,
wondering what we did to deserve such a plight. “What kind of God would
let me down like this?”

You see, the problem with our two heavy-hearted friends was not a lack
of faith, but a lack of vision. Their petitions were limited to what
they could imagine-an earthly kingdom. Had God answered their prayer,
had he granted their hope, the Seven-Day War would have started two
thousand years earlier and Jesus would have spent the next forty years
training his apostles to be cabinet members. You have to wonder if
God's most merciful act is his refusal to answer some of our prayers.

Our problem is not so much that God doesn't give us what we hope for as
it is that we don't know the right thing for which to hope. (You may
want to read that sentence again.)

Hope is not what you expect; it is what you would never dream. It is a
wild, improbable tale with a pinch-me-I'm-dreaming ending. It's Abraham
adjusting his bifocals so he can see not his grandson, but his son.
It's Moses standing in the promised land not with Aaron or Miriam at
his side, but with Elijah and the transfigured Christ. And it is the
two Emmaus-bound pilgrims reaching out to take a piece of bread only to
see that the hands from which it is offered are pierced.

[Pronkertjie]

Thank you Sue!

:daisy:

[Sue Johnson]

Rita

Have you ever prayed for something and your prayers were not answered?

Then years later, you look back and you see God's hand in NOT giving you what you asked for and you are totally THANKFUL that your prayers were not answered because of what happened in the in between years?

God knows best, but at the time we do not understand :thumbs:

[Pronkertjie]

Rita

Have you ever prayed for something and your prayers were not answered?

Then years later, you look back and you see God's hand in NOT giving you what you asked for and you are totally THANKFUL that your prayers were not answered because of what happened in the in between years?

God knows best, but at the time we do not understand :thumbs:

Oh yes Sue. There was something I badly wanted.... for quite a few years actually. But phew.... looking back now, I am so grateful that God knew better! If He granted me my prayers, it would have brought a leaness to my spirit!

[Sue Johnson]

Rita

I think the issue of prayers answered and not answered is where many fall away from their faith. Some prayers can take many years to be answered and others are answered immediately, whilst many are never answered, and still others are answered in ways in which we did not expect.

Trying to comprehend what God's will is and allow our prayers to line up with His will can only happen through relationship with Him and it is not easy for us because we have been given free will at the same time.

"Your will be done", Jesus said. If only we could learn to say that and mean what we say? Sometimes God's will is hard to accept at the time, but accept it we must.

[Pronkertjie]

Yes.... I have learnt quickly to say "Lord, let your will be done".

Sometimes we know that we know that it is God's will for us, and that helps us to persevere in our prayers. He usually bring confirmation to us that it is His will.

One of those tricky prayers is about healing. Often we pray for healing for someone and want them to live, but God has other plans, and we get all upset with Him. Sometimes we pray, and the Lord will touch that person immediately.

[Sue Johnson]

Rita

It's ok to get upset with God....look at David He expressed his pain, anger and cried out to God in his pain........

But God is the loving Father and despite our outbursts He continues to be with us, listening to our pain and comforting us through loss and prayers unanswered. He walks with us through the dark valley's of unanswered prayer and leads us to a place of eventual peace and understanding.