Rising Above Temporal Expectations

Luke 24:21

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.

For the two men on the road to Emmaus, dejection had set in.  They had heard the reports that Jesus had risen from the grave and was alive, but they were perplexed as to why Israel had not been redeemed.  Their expectation was of a redemption of a temporal kind - a redemption that would free Israel from bondage to Rome.  Jesus reproved them for the weakness in their faith and their lack of understanding of the prophetic Scripture.

For all of us that have grown up in an era where instant gratification has become the norm, waiting on the Lord to answer our prayers is one of the most difficult challenges that we face.  We often feel dejected, perhaps even feel rejected, when we have not seen our prayers answered quickly or in a manner that we wished for.  We suffer the same weakness as the men on the road to Emmaus.  We are weak in our faith and we lack understanding of how God intends to rule and reign in our lives.  We tend to seek things from the hand of God without fully seeking the presence of God in our lives.

Let us learn from the men on the way to Emmaus.  Let us refuse to have our hopes dashed because God's work in our lives does not meet our expectations of immediate gratification.  Let us separate ourselves from our old ways of living in the flesh and not in the spirit.  Let us learn to move away from dealing with the issues of our day through our own strength alone.  Let us move to higher ground where we rely on Almighty God to settle our issues.  Let us graduate to the highest ground where we seek the continual presence and impact of Our Savior in our lives and we experience the anointing of living in the Spirit and not in the flesh. 

Prayer

Heavenly Father, we thank You for sending Your Son, Jesus, to live among us so that we could learn about who You are.  We praise the name of Jesus for making it possible for us to enter into Your presence here on earth and forever in Your eternal kingdom.  We pray, Father, that You open our eyes so that we can see You in all the commonplace things that surround us.  We call upon Your Holy Spirit to give us the strength to overcome the depression and oppression that we find in our world.  May we always be mindful of all that is promised to us because of the price that was paid by Your Son, Jesus.  May the world see our joy as we live in Your constant presence.  We ask all these things in the name of Our Lord and Our King, Jesus Christ.