Overcoming Despondency

by Pam Boseker

Teaching t10181

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Introduction

I am going to continue teaching from Gary’s series on “The Essential Jesus,” which has focused on the themes & events during Jesus’ public ministry. At the end of this (roughly) 3 and a half year ministry, Jesus was crucified, buried, and raised from the dead. Immediately following His resurrection, & over the course of the next 40 days, He appeared to many of His followers at various times and in various places to confirm the fulfillment of OT Prophesy that the Messiah would rise from the dead. The passage that we’re going to look at today, Luke 24:13-35, concerns one of those fascinating appearances.

The topic, Overcoming Despondency, is one,…I’ve got to be honest with you… when I found out this was the focal point of our study in Luke 24, I felt a little despondent myself because it seems like every time I’m asked to fill in for one of the elders, the subject typically has something to do with failure, discouragement, despondency! DO I HAVE A BIG “L” ON MY FOREHEAD, or what? “Let’s ask Pam to teach because she has lots of first hand experience in these areas!”

I’m kidding! Not about the first hand experience, because that’s true, I’m actually really excited about teaching this passage, & the fact of the matter is that I have wrestled with feelings of despondency at various times in my life…Sometimes due to my own stupid choices & the subsequent consequences; sometimes due to the bad decisions of others, where the fall out has affected me; and sometimes due to circumstances that are out of my control.

I am fully confident that each & every one of YOU have had similar experiences. Perhaps some of you are feeling despondent right now. You’re feeling discouraged, dejected, depressed…hopeless. There are many words we use interchangeably to describe despondency, but they pretty much all boil down to the same thing: The conviction that any further effort on your part is futile/worthless to remedy your situation or bring about lasting positive change.

The Story

That’s precisely how a couple of Jesus’ followers were feeling as they were leaving Jerusalem 3 days after Jesus had been crucified. Let’s turn to our text in Luke 24. While you’re turning there (3^rd book in the NT; last chap. of Luke) The setting where our story begins is some dusty road outside of Jerusalem 3 days later.

READ vs. 13-14:We know that one of these 2 individuals was “ Cleopas” (vs.18) but we aren’t told who the other person was. They were notmembers of the inner 12 disciples, but part of a much larger group of men & women who had been followers of Jesus over the past 3 ½ years. As we’ll see in a moment, they’re going back to the old homestead in Emmaus, to resume their former life before they knew Christ. No reason to stay in Jerusalem – Jesus was no where to be found; their hope that He would restore the nation of Israel & end the tyranny of Rome had been shattered. They must have been thinking, “It’s OVER…let’s go home, pick up the pieces and start our lives over again.”

READ Vs. 15-16: In the middle of their melancholy conversation, a stranger abruptly joins them. Luke tells us that He is the risen Christ. The dudes don’t recognize Him, however, not because the sun was particularly bright that day & their vision was impaired, but because “their eyes were prevented from recognizing Him.” The passive voice in the original Greek tells us that someone else (namely, GOD) was supernaturally & intentionally preventing them from recognizing Jesus. Jesus had a plan to teach them some very important lessons that they simply wouldn’t have learned if they had recognized Him immediately.

READ Vs. 17. “They stood still, looking sad.” They’re dumbfounded! They stop, dead in their tracks, with a mixture of grief and disbelief! READ Vs. 18. “HOW CAN YOU BE SO CLUELESS to not know what has been happening in Jerusalem over the past couple of days?” Have you been hiding your head in the sand, man?”

Jesus plays the ignorant fool, (READ 19a) “What things?” He asks them, NOT because He was in need of the information…He knew first hand exactly what had been going on. He’s drawing them out, getting them to talk about why they feel so discouraged, so that He can speak to their despondency.

READ Vs. 19b- 21a: Here’s the KEY PHRASE! “WE WERE HOPING…” “We saw Jesus perform miracles; we witnessed Him raise Lazarus from the dead; we heard Him teach the Scriptures with Power & Authority, and we believed He had the words of eternal life. We were counting on Him to deliver Israel from Rome, but He was KILLED by His own people! We trusted He was the promised Messiah, and now He’s gone.”

Most Common Cause of Despondency

“I was hoping…but things didn’t turn out the way I thought they would.” Is that a familiar lament in your life? It has been in mine!

*“I was hoping this new relationship would be the right one…I was hoping this marriage would end my loneliness and provide someone to share & enjoy life together. But we argue all the time, and I feel more empty and lonely than I did before I was married.

*“I was hoping taking this new job would give me a sense of purpose & value, but I still feel inadequate and like something is missing in my life…”

*“I was hoping buying this new house in this particular neighborhood would provide a fresh start and a way to fit in with my colleagues & friends, but the house is just another source of frustration, expense and infinite incomplete projects.” (Maybe for you it’s a new car, a new toy, a fat bank account.)

*”I was hoping…” YOU fill in the blank.

What happens when you put all your expectations & dreams on something or someone to fulfill your desires, and it doesn’t work out the way you had hoped it would? What happens when you totally give yourself to someone, and then she or he proves unworthy of your trust? It’s a tough lesson most of us have to learn over & over throughout our lives: When you expect temporary things & imperfect people to meet your deepest needs & desires, you will always be disappointed.

But even worse…What about when you place your hopes, needs, expectations where they should be placed…In the hands of the infinite, all-knowing, all-powerful, compassionate God, and even HE doesn’t come through? It’s one thing to be disappointed by things & by people, but it’s quite another to be disappointed with God. Some of you here today are disappointed w/ God.

*“I was hoping God would deliver me from this destructive habit, but I can’t seem to kick it.”

*”I was hoping God would intervene & end this agonizing conflict, yet it continues to go on & on, with no resolution in sight.”

*“I was hoping God would change my circumstances for the better, but they only seem to have gotten worse.”

There is no despondency so great as the kind brought on when you pin your last hope on God, and even He doesn’t come through.

As far as these two people in Lk. 24 were concerned, Jesus had let them down, and their despondency had affected their perspective on the events of the previous day to the point that they didn’t even have an accurate view of reality! READ Vs. 21-24. (There’s the big “BUT!”) “We gave it a couple of days, but WE never saw Him. Nothing more happened – End of story – He’s gone, and we’re outta here. We’re going home.”

Have you ever given God a deadline?

“I told you what I needed, God, & I prayed every day about it. I have given you plenty of time, but you haven’t come through, and I’m done waiting on you. I’m still single & lonely, and I’m gonna go find a husband MY WAY!

“I don’t feel significant in my home church. I don’t feel like I have a role to play, and besides, it’s awkward for me to get to know people. I’m much more comfortable in the corporate atmosphere, where I can keep people at arms length. Sure, climbing the ladder in my profession requires 60/70 hours a week, which doesn’t leave much time for investing in relationships, but I’ve been doing things your way for awhile, God, and really haven’t found my niche, so I’m going back to what’s comfortable & familiar.”

Does God usually respond favorably to your deadlines? He’s doesn’t usually respond very favorably to mine! As a matter of fact, His timing is often quite different from mine!

Jesus' Response / Solution to Despondency?

How does Jesus respond to Cleopas and his buddy? What was His solution to despondency? I imagine as we read on, we’ll find that Jesus simply removes the blinders from their eyes, reveals His true identity and says, “Hey guys, it’s ME! I did rise from the dead! Hallelujah!! There’s no reason to be discouraged or despondent any more!”

Nerp…READ Vs. 25-26: “YOU NUMBSKULLS! LOSERS!” Doesn’t sound like a very compassionate way for the God of the Universe to speak to men who are totally despondent! Now, mark this well… Jesus is much more interested in teaching His followers deep, life-changing truth than He is temporarily relieving their emotional pain. If you’re taking notes, write this down, and re-visit it in the future when you need to be reminded of this important truth.

He calls them FOOLISH MEN because they have been “slow of heart to believe in ALL that the prophets have spoken!” This is at the very core of their hopelessness & despondency. Their view of the way God was working in the world was distorted because they had only believed & trusted in the parts of Scripture that appealed to them…They loved the OT prophesies which talk about the Messiah bringing salvation to the Jews & taking His rightful place as Ruler. Yet, they had conveniently disregarded the prophesies about the Suffering Servant in Is. 53:5 - “But He was pierced through for our transgressions. He was crushed for our iniquities…by His scourging, we are healed.” Ps. 22:6b, 15b, 16 - “I am…a reproach of men, and despised by the people…You do lay me in the dust of death…They pierced my hands & my feet.” They forgot that Daniel foretold in 9:26 – that the Messiah would be “cut off” (Hebrew idiom for “killed”) and have nothing.”

They had adopted a selective & partial Biblical perspective on the Messiah, and their viewpoint wasn’t big enough to integrate God’s entire plan to restore imperfect, sinful humankind back to a love relationship with a Holy, perfect God. Because their world view wasn’t based on the entirety of God’s Word, they were shattered – Discouraged, Hopeless, and Despondent.

Jesus’ Solution? That’s obvious!! Of course, He told them to pray more! He gives them some helpful tips on the power of positive thinking! He prescribes the latest anti-depressant, and sends them on their way. NOT that using anti-depressants is necessarily a bad thing. (Zoloft got me through moving out of my beloved neighborhood of 15 years!) No, I’m not saying that. The point is that ALL these remedies, including prayer, are insufficient by themselves to bring about lasting change.

Jesus’ solution is given to us in Vs. 27 (READ.) He dished up for them a systematic & detailed study of OT Scripture, and laid out the entire scope of the Messiah’s life, death, resurrection and purpose, starting in Genesis 3:15 (the first Messianic prophesy,) moving through the Psalms & the books of the Prophets, and ending with the last Messianic prophesy given in the OT, in Zech 9:9.

Wouldn’t you have LOVED to have been a fly on the wall? Jesus, the God of the universe, their personal tutor, explaining ALL the Scriptures to them until, as it says in vs. 32, “…their hearts BURNED within them…”

Have you ever had that happen, when you’re listening to a Bible teaching or someone explains a passage to you that you don’t understand, and it’s like a light bulb goes off! Suddenly, you GET IT; God reveals some fresh insight to you; sometimes you even think, “Who told the teacher about me? He or she is speaking right to ME!”

These two guys experienced a complete paradigm shift in their perspective and their emotions, due to a fresh, accurate & complete understanding of the Scriptures. They came to the startling realization that God’s plan had NOT been defeated, but accomplished through the death & resurrection of Jesus, the Messiah. Their hearts were “burning” instead of grieving, & their despondency had become hopefulness. Isn’t this a sweet story? Yes, but…

What does this have to do with you and me, over 2000 years after the fact?

Some of you here this morning have a clear understanding about why Jesus had to die; you believe in the death & resurrection of Christ, and probably have a decent overall grasp of Scripture. Yet, you’ve come here this morning feeling discouraged, despondent, even hopeless about an on-going conflict in a relationship, a health issue, a trying circumstance that just won’t go away. I want you to consider something:

Is it possible that you have your own personal grid through which you view the Bible, and when life throws something at you that doesn’t fit that grid, you become despondent & blame God? May I suggest, as someone with personal experience in this arena, that your despondency stems from the same root cause as our two friends on the road to Emmaus? – Either you don’t understand OR you don’t believe ALL the Scriptures teach.

Do you realize that God does allow difficulties in your life and then masterfully & lovingly uses them to drive you to His Word in order to get the “big picture” and understand ALL of Scripture?

Let me share three examples from my own life, when God has worked through my trials & feelings of despondency to disclose deeper Truth & develop spiritual maturity.

Blessed to be a blessing

I remember in the church where I grew up that every week the pastor gave the blessing at the end of the service, and it went something like this: “God be gracious to us and bless us, and cause His face to shine upon us…” This is actually a direct quote from Psalms 67:1. The emphasis in the liturgy was on the fact that God wants to bless us, which is true! Unfortunately, the rest of the verse was left out, which is: “That Your way may be known on the earth, Your salvation among all nations. Let the peoples praise You, O God;…Let the nations be glad and sing for joy;…God blesses us,…” (Why?) “That all the ends of the earth may revere Him.” (Paraphrased version of the remainder of Ps. 67)

Do you see a shift in emphasis? Why are you blessed? So you can sit back & enjoy your life? Life is fulfilling & abundant when you follow Christ, but obtaining happiness & blessing is not the goal. You are blessed to be a blessing to others.

This is taught throughout the OT & the NT, yet the Western church has bastardized God’s Word by picking & choosing from Scripture, & not teaching ALL of Scripture. It’s taught from the pulpit all the time: “God wants you to be happy, healthy, and wealthy.” No He doesn’t. It’s great if you are happy, healthy, & wealthy, but He wants you to use your happiness, health, & wealth for the good of others.

Until I understood this, I had a very lukewarm Christian life. EVEN THOUGH, I was committed to fellowship w/ other Christians; I studied & taught the Bible; I even led a home church, but I was missing the complete picture. Somewhere in the back of my mind I thought the Christian life was about God bringing blessing, healing, & conflict-free relationships into my life, instead of realizing that I had already “been blessed with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ.” (Eph. 1:3) Understanding more fully that God has already given me everything I need and that He will personally take care of my physical, emotional and spiritual needs, I am FREE to love & serve others, and leave my personal concerns in the hands of God.

Gratitude

I have experienced further freedom, as I’ve realized that my own lack of gratitude has been a major cause of despondency in my life. Studying Lamentations 3 revolutionized my thinking on this. Jeremiah, the author, had good reason to be despondent. God had essentially said to him, “I have a ministry of failure for you, Jeremiah. You will be my spokesman, but no one is going to listen to you.” In the book of Lamentations, Jeremiah expresses inconsolable grief over the suffering of God’s chosen people, the Israelites, and the affliction of Jerusalem due to their own disobedience. We read things like, “My soul has been rejected from peace; I have forgotten happiness.” (3:17) “Remember my affliction and my wandering, the wormwood and bitterness. Surely my soul remembers and is bowed down within me.” (Vs. 19 & 20) I think it’s fair to say this dude was DESPONDENT!

But listen to the sudden paradigm shift in Vs. 21-25: “This I recall to mind, therefore I have hope. The Lord’s loving kindnesses indeed never cease, for His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; Great is Your faithfulness. ‘The Lord is my portion,’ says my soul. ‘Therefore I have hope in Him.’ The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.” I began to journal each day about one way I saw God’s faithfulness; one little way I experienced His loving kindness, & my world view began to change! It became increasingly more difficult to bitch & moan, because my heart was filled with gratitude. His blessings had been there all the time…I just didn’t see them!

Conflict

Thirdly, and lastly, because 3 examples from MY life are enough…Would you believe that I prayed for over a decade that my marriage would improve? I prayed devoutly & persistently, “CHANGE MY HUSBAND, LORD!” And at the same time my husband was praying, “CHANGE MY WIFE, LORD!” Not much changed for a loooooooong time.

It wasn’t until both my husband & I finally came to a point of such utter despondency that we each went individually before the Lord & asked Him, “Change ME.” Show ME ALL of Scripture & how I can be a better spouse. Empower me to love the way You love me, Lord, sacrificially & unconditionally.”

WOW, what a difference that made! Those prayers were answered surprisingly speedily, and my husband, Brad, will tell you today, “Pam & I have had 7 (almost 8) great years!” (We’ve been married over 20!)

*I wanted God to alleviate my suffering. He wanted me to grow in endurance & faith.

*I wanted my emotional needs met MY WAY! God wanted me to realize I’m not the center of the Universe!

*I was satisfied to wallow in my despondency. God wanted me to grow up, spiritually & emotionally.

There you have it – 3 lessons from my life, but, if we return to our text, we’ll find there are three additional lessons we may glean from this conversation between Jesus & the 2 guys traveling home to Emmaus.

First Lesson

YOU HAVE A CHOICE. (READ Vs. 28-29) Why would Jesus “act” or pretend that He had every intention of “going farther?” I think their response gives us a clue! The word for “urged” in the original Greek was usually used in the context of violence. They’re not just saying, “It would be cool if you hung out with us tonight.” They are pleading with Him not to go! He had addressed their despondency by fully explaining God’s Word; now, He is giving them the opportunity to respond positively by asking for more. The choice that lay before them is to move forward & ask for more, or be satisfied with the status quo (which in this case, is despondency.)

You know what? This is the way God will work in your life. He is always accessible, even during those times when you may feel He’s not there or it doesn’t seem as though He’s listening. He is listening. His Word is always adequate to bring about change in your life. But God WILL NOT force Himself upon you. You are made in His image, and that means, in part, that you have free will. He respects your free will.

I love the mental picture that Rev. 3:20 brings to my mind, when Jesus says to you & to me. He’s not rude- He won’t invite Himself in; He’s not like the door to door salesman who manipulates his way into your house; neither will He barge through the door, grab you by the shoulders, and insist that you to listen to Him. He knocks…He makes Himself known through your conscience, His Word, the conviction of His Spirit, & the people He brings into your life. He invites you to become His forgiven, beloved child, but He waits for YOU to open the door.

The way to do that is so simple, but it’s such an affront to our pride! Opening the door to a love relationship with Christ simply means telling Him, in your own words, “I know you’re God & you’re perfect, and I’m not. I know you died for me & took the judgment I deserved for my sin & my selfishness, upon yourself. I want to receive your free gift of forgiveness, and begin a personal relationship with you. I want to open that door & invite you in to my life.” If you have never had that conversation, you can have it right now, sitting in your chair. And,…

You don’t have to understand “ALL” of the Scriptures to begin a relationship w/ Christ. This is a process (an adventure!) that begins the moment you receive Christ and continues until the day you meet the Lord face to face, when He “…shall wipe away every tear from your eyes, and there shall no longer be any death,…or mourning, or crying or pain…” (Rev. 21: 4) Despondency will be destroyed forever. Will you set your pride aside and open the door to Jesus today, or will you continue to be satisfied with the status quo?

Second Lesson

BELIEF IS CONFIRMED BY EXPERIENCE.(READ Vs. 30-32)

They had come to believe in Jesus’ resurrection, they had opened the door & invited him in, and now their belief was confirmed by their experience. Notice the order: First, Jesus explained the Scriptures and they sensed the illuminating power of God’s Word. Second, they responded to God’s Word in faith & wanted to hear more. Thirdly, their faith was confirmed with personal experience. Isn’t it true, that you & I usually want to reverse the order? “Give me the feelings & the experiences first, God, and then maybe I’ll believe.”

Incidentally, you will have totally missed the point, if you walk out of here thinking that if you invite Jesus into your life, He’s going to show up physically in your house and then perform a vanishing act. As cool as that would be, this isn’t the way He typically reveals Himself these days. The point is: These 2 men decided to avail themselves to Jesus, to hear Him out. Then they believed His Words & this led to deeper understanding & a personal encounter with the risen Christ.

God doesn’t ask you to have blind faith. On the contrary, He wants you to use your mind and realize faith is based on Scriptures, which are backed up by historical & archaeological evidence. As you choose to take steps of faith, He will confirm those steps with more facts, personal experience and emotions that are in line with His truth.

Third Lesson

THIS IS URGENT! READ Vs. 33-35 – “They arose that very hour & returned to Jerusalem…” It’s night time by now, and they’re undoubtedly tired from their long journey, but they can’t just relax and do nothing! They’ve got to GO…they’ve got to tell people this amazing news: Jesus IS ALIVE; HE HAS RISEN FROM THE DEAD, and our lives are forever changed!

Do you have this sense of urgency? If you know Christ personally, do you understand that Jesus wants you to have a dynamic encounter with Him through His Word, to understand & believe ALL the Scriptures…? NOT so you can be a great theologian; NOT so you can be happy & wise; NOT so you can be delivered from your despondency,…but primarily so you can share His love, mercy & truth with other people, so that their lives can be forever changed. God wants to interrupt your personal agenda and disrupt your comfort zone, so you can be used to take this urgent message to those who don’t know Him. What an awesome privilege!

Conclusion

None of you can escape occasional despondency in this imperfect world, but you can have confidence that God will use despondency to teach you: Deeper dependence on Him; to change your character; give you greater empathy for others; wean you from idols (all those things we hold closer to our hearts than God;) and to make you FREE! Free to love & be loved without expectations; free to live out the unique role & purpose God has planned just for you; free to enjoy His gift of love & forgiveness and share it with others.

*A life lived in relationship w/ Christ, under the direction & encouragement of ALL Scripture, is a fun, exciting, challenging & difficult adventure. But it’s a life-changing adventure full of real love & unprecedented purpose.