September 2011 - "I thought SURELY you would understand!"

“I thought SURELY you would understand!”

In Luke chapter 4 Jesus experiences a great emotional pendulum swing. First he is tempted by the devil after 40 days of fasting. He was “hungry” (v.2) yet endured the temptations . Then He returned to Galilee had a terrific teaching experienced that culminated with being “praised” (v.15) Then as He wanted to make His big public announcement of His formal ministry in his home town, he was rejected and condemned to die by friends and neighbors. They wanted to kill him and “drove him” (v.29) to a cliff to be stoned.

In v. 24 Jesus said, “no prophet is accepted in his own town.”

This type of thing happens all the time. At times when we most need to be understood and comforted, those are the very times we don’t get it. He needed comfort, restoration, validation, and the security of a safe place.

Jesus continued to minister greatly in a nearby town, and eventually “went out to a solitary place.” (v.42). That is what we all need to do. When we feel overwhelmed and misunderstood, go find our heavenly Father and spend time with Him. He will comfort, He will restore, He will validate our efforts. It can be a frustrating waste of time to try over and over to make others understand when often they possess little capacity to do so.