It’s a mistake believers often make. We want to be rescued from our circumstances instead of sin in our lives. I made this mistake.
At the close of The Lord of The Rings, after a long journey filled with suffering, the character of Samwise Gamgee realizes he is still going to die. This is not the kind of rescue he imagined:
“But even as hope died in Sam, or seemed to die, it was turned to a new strength. Sam’s plain hobbit face grew stern, almost grim as the will hardened in him, and he felt throughout all his limbs a thrill, as if he were turning into some creature of stone and steel that neither despair nor weariness nor endless barren miles could subdue.”
Transformation. Suffering can help us let go of our idols and cling to God, and in so doing, we become creatures of beauty—we become like Christ.
Read Luke 24:13-35
As we go through today’s scriptures, I want to begin with these thoughts and questions:
1. We are always looking for a rescue from circumstances.
A. What kind of rescue were the two on the road to Emmaus expecting?
B. What humor do you see in this passage?
C. How was this a real rescue, even though it was different than they expected?
2. Think about a time of suffering in your life.
A. Did you at first hope for a rescue from your circumstances? Can you identify with the feelings of the two downcast disciples in the above account? What do you remember feeling?
B. As you look back now, how did that suffering work in your life to produce transformation?
3. Read Romans 8:28-29. What promise is given—and what will a real rescue look like?
4. If suffering produces character, why do we so long to avoid it?
5. Has your attitude toward suffering changed? Explain.
