Title: When My Heart Gets Down
Contents
♡♥♡ When my heart is discouraged / Luke 24:13-35
*** Introduction
A young saint had a look of concern on his face. “Why is your face so dark?” I asked. The young man said, 'The family affairs are tangled like a tangled thread, so I can't get a clue.' He continued, “God does not know my circumstances at all. Nothing works, the doors are all closed and there is no way out.”
Do you ever get frustrated because things in your life get tangled and you can't get a clue? There is an old saying, “Even if the sky falls, there is a hole through which it will rise.” But are there times when it seems that there is no way out even when you look around? Even now, when I look at the world and see things with a worldly eye, there are times when my heart is stuffy and I feel like I have no clue at all.
This is the situation in the text.
The text records a series of events that happened to the disciples after Jesus died on the cross and was buried. When Jesus died, the disciples who followed were overcome with fear and could not even walk the streets properly. In the morning three days after Jesus was buried, some women said that Jesus had risen again, but the disappointment that “everything is over” still swept over the hearts of the disciples. The disciples scattered one by one on their way.
One of the twelve disciples of Jesus betrayed and died, and the disciples from Galilee and other disciples joined together and the seven returned to their hometown. The two disciples, whose home is Emmaus, near Jerusalem, were also heading home with “no more to look forward to.” Their expectation can be seen from the expression in verse 21, “We hoped that this man would be the one to redeem Israel.” Their expectations were shattered when Jesus was executed and died. Now there is no way anymore. It's just going back to where it was before that painful life.
Even if we look at the reality of our country now, and look at the reality of the Korean church, our hearts become discouraged. Because it seems that it cannot be done by human power. Have you ever felt like this and felt discouraged? Are there times when the things you expected are tangled like a skein of thread and you don't know what to do and feel discouraged and worried?
In Luke 18:18 and below, there is a story about a rich young man.
The rich young man comes to Jesus and asks, “What must I do to inherit eternal life?” Jesus said, “Keep the commandments, sell all you have, give to the poor, and follow me.” The young man said that he returned home with great sorrow. Then the Lord said, “How difficult it is for the rich to enter the kingdom of God. It is easier for a camel to go through the eye of a needle than for a rich man to enter the kingdom of God.” At that time, people became discouraged. they sigh. “Who then can be saved?”
It is impossible by worldly standards. Neither a rat nor an ant, how could that great camel get through the eye of a needle? This is impossible. When people hit the limits of their abilities, when they go beyond their comprehension, they become discouraged, thinking it's impossible. But listen to the Lord's answer. He said, “What is impossible with man is possible with God” (Luke 18:27). There is an Italian proverb that says, “God closes the door, but leaves the windows open.”
There is a way even when people are discouraged when all the roads are blocked and all the doors seem to be closed. The Lord shows us the way through the text. I hope you will find your own way as you listen to the Word.
1. When you are discouraged, open the door of faith.
Look at verses 22-24 of the text. These are the words of the two disciples on their way to Emmaus to the resurrected Jesus. “Also, some women among us astonished us, saying that they went to the tomb at dawn and did not see his body, but saw the appearance of angels, saying, ‘He is alive.’ And a couple of those who were with us went to the tombs and saw what the women said, but they said, ‘We have not seen Jesus.’”
Is there anything that comes to mind as you listen to them? This is what Jesus foretold about this event. Matthew 16:21 says, “From that time on, Jesus Christ began to teach his disciples that he must go up to Jerusalem, and suffer many things from the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and be raised on the third day. Shini,” he said. After this, the Lord taught the same word twice more. In addition, in verse 26:32, he emphasized, “But after I have risen, I will go before you into Galilee.”
When a person becomes overly anxious and discouraged, the ability to think and understanding decrease. Even the disciples could not think of what Jesus had already said about this matter because of the difficulties and worries that were right before their eyes. So the Lord reminded me again through the mouth of the angel. Verses 5-6 at the beginning of the text. “Why do you seek the living among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. Remember how he spoke to you while he was in Galilee.” Nevertheless, the disciples did not understand.
Why are the disciples so frustrated? The reason is that the door of faith is closed. The disciples did not have the faith to prepare for difficult times. The Lord told us to prepare for faith like that when we were with them, but they thought ‘I can’t do it,’ and they were just arguing for a seat.
So are you and me. They say, ‘Be awake and prepare your faith in case of sudden difficult times.’ But in your heart, you think, ‘I need to prepare, but it’s only me!’ and I ignore it. After that, I get caught up in the world in front of me again and completely forget about it. Then, when difficulties arise, they havetily seek the Lord and seek help here and there, but it only adds to the suffering of those who are not prepared.
Faith is for difficult times. When you are at peace, you do not need particularly great faith. It's like we have all kinds of insurance. I am healthy now, and my children are young, so I don't have to pay a lot of money for school right now. But I have car insurance, I have cancer insurance, I have education insurance. Why? This is to prepare for unpredictable times and anticipated demand.
The disciples of Jesus did not have the insurance of faith. So, when difficulties arose and we became discouraged, we could not open the door of faith. It's because they didn't build the door of faith. Prepare your faith for times of trouble, trouble, frustration, and discouragement. To prepare for faith is to engrave the word of God's promise in our spirit, and to keep the bond of fellowship with the Lord. And in times of trouble, in times of sorrow, in times of discouragement, open the door to that faith. If you open the door of faith, you will see hope.
2. When you are discouraged, call on the Lord.
There is a famous saying by John Wesley, “The best of all is God is with us.” The best time for us is now. Because the time God is with is not the past, nor the future, but the present. God has neither past nor future. To God, all time is always present. And to those who have accepted the Lord as their Savior, the Lord is with them now.
Just as the resurrected Lord accompanied the two disciples on the way to Emmaus, even though we cannot see it now, He will accompany us on our way and sit down with us at our table more surely than we can see. More precisely, the Holy Spirit dwells in our spirit. So our body is a temple.
However, there is an important fact. Although the Lord is always with us, we need to address our own circumstances, ask for help, and call. Both the Old Testament and the New Testament speak the same truth. God is speaking with promises of restoration to the people of Israel who have lost their nation due to iniquity and are living in slavery. Ezekiel 36:37,38. “Thus says the Lord GOD. Nevertheless, the house of Israel must ask me to do this for them. I will make their number as a flock as a flock, and I will fill the desolate city with a flock of men, like a flock for sacrifice, a flock for the feasts of Jerusalem. Then they will know that I am the LORD.” In Matthew 7:7-8, Jesus said, “Ask, and it will be given to you. Find it. Then you will find it. knock on the door And it will be opened to you, and everyone who asks receives it. He who seeks will find it. It will be opened to him who knocks.”
The two disciples on their way to Emmaus did not know that Jesus was the one who accompanied them and spoke the word. However, intoxicated by the mystery of the Word, they forced Jesus to pass by and held on to them to be with them. The disciples, who were sailing in the turbulent sea, rowing painfully, only when they felt the limits of their power did they wake up Jesus, who was sleeping, and ask for help. When the two disciples of Emmaus caught hold of the Lord, the Lord opened their eyes. The disciples were late in the stormy sea, but when they woke up and cried out to the Lord, he calmed the wind and the waves.
Are you now calling out and crying out to the Lord? When your heart is discouraged, filled with difficulties and worries, when things are blocked and painful, call on the Lord who is with you. Seek help. Please report the situation. This is trusting in the Lord. If you depend on the Lord like this, the Lord will help you as promised. Do not rely on worldly people, power, or wealth by any chance. The world cannot help us.
It was an autumn sports day when I was in elementary school. There was a ‘visitor-finding obstacle competition’. There are several obstacles on the playground track, and when you overcome them, folded papers are side by side. If you select one of them and open it, your name is written there.
It was Joe with a kid who was an athlete in our class. There was a friend in that group who was short and couldn't run very well. "land!" Five children run with the sound of gunfire. The sprinter, of course, was at the forefront, going through ladders, jumping over stilettos, and picking up papers through bales. But the athlete's face turned into tears. The child is looking around the stands, calling her grandmother and running, holding her hand.
The shortest friend who arrived last went to the main seat and shouted, 'Physical education teacher!' The PE teacher picked up the child and ran. The results are obvious. The friend who ran the worst took first place.
Who is with you is more important than how many and few people are with you. For us, the Creator God, the Lord of all creation, is with us. He is the God who made us, who saved us, who is with us now, and who will lead us into the eternal kingdom and be with us forever.
Even though this powerful God is with us, are we not suffering, troubled, and discouraged? Because they didn't call, because they didn't ask for help. The Lord says This is John 16:24. “Until now you have asked for nothing in my name, but ask. Then you will receive, and your joy may be full.”
Now, let's prepare our faith for difficult times. Let's store the Word in the storehouse of the spirit and hold on to the line of fellowship with the Lord. And let's call on the Lord who is with us, ask for help, and understand the situation. Therefore, I pray that you will enjoy love, happiness, and joy as a powerful person of God, not as an incompetent person.