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- Apr 25, 2006
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Bad day? Focus on Him.
'I pray...that your heart may be enlightened...' Ephesians 1:18
Imagine - you're having the worst day ever. Your best mate's been killed, and to top it all his body's been nicked from the grave. You're walking along with a mate, wallowing in your sadness, when some bloke comes along and starts chatting. Most people would probably want to tell him to get lost and leave them alone - even if he was trying to be helpful! That's probably what the disciples were thinking in Luke 24:15 - 16. But how glad to you think they were that they didn't ignore the guy walking by them, when they found out it actually was Jesus!
They'd been so focused on how bad they were feeling, they'd not even realized it was Him! When the disciples did actually look to Jesus, and recognize him, suddenly things changed. They went from fear to courage, pain to joy, despair to hope - all because they'd got back their focus on Jesus.
And that is the story of Easter - no matter how bad things may seem to be, how bad your day is going, when you fix your eyes on Jesus and focus on Him, He'll fill you with hope. Don't be so focused on what's going on that you lose sight of what matters - Jesus. That's why Paul writes ' I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called' (Ephesians 1:18 NIV).
written by Bob Gass
'I pray...that your heart may be enlightened...' Ephesians 1:18
Imagine - you're having the worst day ever. Your best mate's been killed, and to top it all his body's been nicked from the grave. You're walking along with a mate, wallowing in your sadness, when some bloke comes along and starts chatting. Most people would probably want to tell him to get lost and leave them alone - even if he was trying to be helpful! That's probably what the disciples were thinking in Luke 24:15 - 16. But how glad to you think they were that they didn't ignore the guy walking by them, when they found out it actually was Jesus!
They'd been so focused on how bad they were feeling, they'd not even realized it was Him! When the disciples did actually look to Jesus, and recognize him, suddenly things changed. They went from fear to courage, pain to joy, despair to hope - all because they'd got back their focus on Jesus.
And that is the story of Easter - no matter how bad things may seem to be, how bad your day is going, when you fix your eyes on Jesus and focus on Him, He'll fill you with hope. Don't be so focused on what's going on that you lose sight of what matters - Jesus. That's why Paul writes ' I pray that your hearts will be flooded with light so that you can understand the confident hope he has given to those he called' (Ephesians 1:18 NIV).
written by Bob Gass
