In sharing stories of good news this past month, Au and I were encouraged by the honesty of a young friend named David. He shared that our story examples didn’t really sound like good news to him. We appreciated his willingness to engage with us in the conversation and when we asked him what good news would sound like to him, he shared, “Joy.”
Since that day, Au and I have been searching for stories of joy that contrast with the stories of despair that surround us daily. We think we’ve found a possibility and would love to learn if you discover the point where despair turned to joy.
It had been a seriously rough three days, and the weekend hit rock bottom. These two dudes were walking down the road, chillin’ and chatting about all the wild things that had happened.
As they were walking, a dude they didn’t recognize slid up and joined them. He asked, “What’s up, guys? What are y’all talking about?” They stopped, looking totally bummed out. One of them was like, “Dude, are you the only guy in town who has no clue about what’s been happening this week?”
The new dude said, “Oh? What’s up?” And they broke it down for Him: “It’s all about this guy. He was a legit prophet, all-star in words and actions before God and people, but the big bosses handed Him over to get executed, and they nailed Him to a cross. We were hoping He’d be the one to redeem our people. And to top it off, this is the third day since all that went down.
Here’s the kicker: some of our squad went to His unalive space early this morning but couldn’t find His body. They came back with this wild story about seeing angels who told them He is alive. Some of our crew went there too and said it was empty, just like the others said, but they didn’t see Him.”
Then the dude, still not being recognized, said, “You guys are missing it. Don’t you see this was all part of God’s game plan?” And He gave them the lowdown on all the prophecies from their prophets, showing how everything pointed to Him.
When they got close to their destination, the bro acted like He was gonna keep walking, but they insisted He hang out with them because it was getting late. He agreed and came in to eat with them. When He sat at the table, took some bread, blessed it, broke it, and handed it to them, BAM—they finally realized it was Jesus. But as soon as they did, He pulled a Houdini and vanished. They were shook and said to each other, “Man, didn’t our hearts feel like they were on fire while He was talking to us and breaking down the Scriptures?”
Right then and there, they did a 180 and sprinted back to their homies back in Jerusalem. They found the other squad members, and the two recounted their crazy encounter on the road and how they knew it was Jesus when He broke the bread.
Credit to our friend David for inspiration, Microsoft Copilot for more current language, and the book of Luke for content.
Let’s break it down
Understanding the story…
- What did you first think had happened over the weekend before you got to the 3rd paragraph?
- At what point did the emotions of the two guys change? Why?
- How does the story help you know that the two guys no longer felt despair?
Discovering good news in the story…
- What connections do you see between this story and your own life?
- What causes deep despair?
- What have you found helpful when you are discouraged?
- Have you ever been surprised to discover that something good could come from something terrible? How did it happen?
- What is the connection between experiencing joy and telling others about it?
- When is the last time you experienced joy in your life?
- Who do you know that could explore this topic with?
Today’s joy thoughts (free)
https://understandingthegospel.org/by-women-for-women/joy-in-despair/
Ponder the promise of mourning being turned into joy:
Then shall the young women rejoice in the dance,
and the young men and the old shall be merry.
I will turn their mourning into joy;
I will comfort them, and give them gladness for sorrow. Jeremiah 31:13
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Thank you for the encouragement, it is necessary to rest in the peace of the Lord. Unfortunately after living life in a safe secure country, learning to live in chaos is learning to exercise a new muscle – with its attending aches, especially of the heart. In this we now have a new affinity to ‘the least of these’ that Christ preaches of. Peace.
Yes, living in chaos is painful….and yet, God Himself is in the midst, loving and caring for us. Thanks for interacting here with us! We appreciate you! Eunice and Au
Thanks for this!