In Confusion and Fear
Things were getting weird. Just a few days before, the streets were lined with people chanting Jesus’ name, “Hosanna! Hosanna! Glory to the One who comes in the name of the Lord!” But now, they were huddled together in a private room eating a traditional Passover meal, and Jesus was talking about going away. Not going away for a minute or even a whole day like He usually does, but going to away away. Like the disciples, we, too, wonder how to cling to the good (and wait for the best).
The disciples—these men who had walked with Him, literally, for years—were confused and afraid. What was He talking about? Where was He going? Could they follow? What would they do without Him?
How Can We Know?
Thomas (the one who was most courageous about sharing his doubts and fears) said what was on everyone’s mind: “Lord, we don’t get it. We don’t even know where you’re going. So, how can we know the way?”
The response changed everything. Not just for those men in that room 2,000 years ago. But for every human who has ever lived since that moment: “I am the Way.”
A Greenhouse of Emotions
How many times have I been right where the disciples were that night? Lost, confused, and afraid. Maybe even a little angry. For many of us, the last two years have been the perfect greenhouse for those emotions, exacerbating the trauma we are already walking through. Grief, loss, and uncertainty. Cancer, infertility, and bankruptcy. Broken relationships, broken dreams, and broken trust.
So many of us are crying out, “Lord, I have no clue where I’m supposed to be. How I’m supposed to walk forward what tomorrow will look like? How am I supposed to do this?”
Where’s The Good News?
On top of all of that, those of us who grew up in church pews listening to a pastor tell us of the hope and glory of the gospel have to struggle with the guilt that we are struggling at all. How do we cling to the good news we believe while the world swirling madly around us seems to offer no good news at all?
Take heart, dear traveler. You are not alone.
The Struggle To Cling
Even after Jesus told His disciples that He was the way, they still struggled. They still didn’t fully get it that night. And they certainly didn’t get it when He was arrested just a few hours later. They absolutely didn’t get it while he was being brutally tortured and executed in public for all to see… even though He had explained it all as plainly as one could.
I’m going ahead and preparing a room for you in My Father’s house. You will commune with Me there forever. A few moments later, seeing their confusion and fear, Jesus reassured them: Peace. That’s what I’m leaving with you. Not the world’s peace, but a supernatural soul peace.
Our Ultimate Hope in Jesus
That’s it. It’s that simple. In Jesus, we have the way, we have the truth, and we have access to an eternity spent communing with our Creator. But on top of that, we have the life—as in life right now. And that life includes supernatural soul peace that is wholly unaffected by our earthly circumstances: peace amidst the madness, uncertainty, and brokenness of our world.
The way, the truth, and the life. The peace of Jesus, the hope of Jesus, the good news of Jesus. These are not things only to be remembered fondly during the Easter season. Ultimate hope and peace are found in the person of Jesus Christ who walked out of a tomb 2,000 years ago so that we might experience the resurrection for ourselves, so that we might experience Him. This week, may we embrace the reality that amidst the madness, we can cling to the good news—today and everyday—because our worth, our value, our identity, our peace, and our hope are not of things of this world.
This is how we cling to the good while we hope for the best.