When Your Deckchair Won’t Unfold

"But we had hoped that he was the one who was going to redeem Israel. And what is more, it is the third day since all this took place."
Luke 24:21 (NIV)

What if the road that feels like a dead end is exactly where Jesus is already walking beside you? 

Charlie Brown once had Lucy tell him, "On the cruise ship of life, some people face their deck chairs forward to see where they're going, while others face them backward to see where they've been." She then asked Charlie which way his chair was facing. He frowned and said, "I can't even get mine unfolded."

That's exactly where two disciples find themselves on the road to Emmaus. Their hopes are buried beneath a stone. Their dreams are dead. And then comes one of the Bible's phrases we can all relate to: "We had hoped." 

They know the prophecies. They have heard the reports of the empty tomb, and still can't connect the dots.

Sound familiar? The diagnosis comes back wrong. The marriage ends anyway. The child you raised in church walks away. Life pulls the rug out from under you. Suddenly, you're not swimming in an ocean of optimism. You're drowning in a pool of pessimism.

But Jesus doesn’t leave those men on the Emmaus road confused and discouraged. He walks alongside them and opens the entire Old Testament. He shows them that every story, every sacrifice, every prophecy has always been about Him.

When doubt is pulling you under, don't walk away from Scripture. Open it. Jesus is waiting to walk you through it.

Prayer: Lord, when my hopes feel crushed and I can't see past the disappointment, open Your Word to me the way You did for those two disciples. Help me trust what You've said, even when I can't seem to understand what You're doing. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.