Are We Prepared

But God, being rich in mercy, because of His great love with which He loved us, even when we were dead in our transgressions, made us alive together with Christ (by grace you have been saved), and raised us up with Him, and seated us with Him in the heavenly places in Christ Jesus, so that in the ages to come He might show the surpassing riches of His grace in kindness toward us in Christ Jesus. For by grace you have been saved through faith; and that not of yourselves, it is the gift of God; not as a result of works, so that no one may boast. For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus for good works, which God prepared beforehand so that we would walk in them. Therefore remember that formerly you, the Gentiles in the flesh, who are called “Uncircumcision” by the so-called “Circumcision,” which is performed in the flesh by human hands— remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the commonwealth of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who formerly were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ.  Ephesians 2:4-13 NASB

You may feel as if no one understands and no one is listening. You may even feel like your own worst enemy sometimes; filled with doubt, stumbling into sinful failures. Life can make us all desperate, can't it? But then there is hope. Jesus, crucified, conquering death and ascending to the right hand of God three days later, has chosen His people. More than a rescuer, God has given mankind the gift of choice, freedom to call upon the name of Jesus. 

That was the hope of ten men who lived with leprosy and its death sentence. But there was a day when they called out in hope to Jesus. Luke 17 teaches that in their desperation, they had hope. Societal rules defined their desperation. These men had to stay at least one hundred paces away from any other human being.  No one wanted to come in contact with someone who had this disfiguring disease. People who had the illness banded into groups to help each other survive. But every time another person came into sight they had to cry out, "Unclean! Unclean!" They were isolated, frightened, lonely, heartbroken. They were desperate.

But, somehow, they had heard of Jesus. They heard of His miracles and healing. They heard He was unlike any other person who had ever walked the earth. They knew His Name. They knew His authority, and they sensed hope in Him. So they called out, "Jesus, Master, have mercy on us!"

Ten men with leprosy, boldly calling out, You see, when you're pressed against the wall in desperation and when you feel like you don't have many options, the enemy would rather that you resign yourself death in this broken and sinful world. 

But my friend Jesus changes everything just like He changed everything for those lepers that day.  He is the true source of hope in the middle of our desperation.