We know how the story ends. Jesus comes back from the dead. He is victorious and he is alive.
But his disciples didn’t understand this. Despite the fact that Jesus told them what was going to happen, they weren’t expecting it. His death must have felt like the end. Their hopes and dreams were crushed. The one they had pinned their hopes on had been arrested, tried and crucified. Now what?
What happens when our ‘happily ever after’ doesn’t happen? We all have expectations of Jesus. Sometimes, we hold on to our hopes and dreams more than we hold on to Jesus. We can fall into the same trap that caught the disciples. We don’t expect there to be any problems along the way to victory.
God sees our heart. He knows our heartbreaks. He is our strength and our comforter in times of trouble. In his kingdom, he has already prepared a way for us that is better than anything we can think or imagine. Easter is coming. The resurrection will take place. The writer of Hebrews reminds us: “Now faith is confidence in what we hope for and assurance about what we do not see.” (Hebrews 11:1) We need to hold on to this hope and believe that God is still at work even when we can’t see the answer.