Sometimes we need a good dose of hope and encouragement. We can get so obsessed with the weight of our cross that we forget Jesus showed us what lies beyond it. Today’s hardships can distract us from tomorrow’s hope.
(Photo by Andrew Storms Happiness CC-BY-SA-2.0, via Wikimedia Commons)
Jesus’ Transfiguration wasn’t some sideshow He did one day for fun. It came at a point when the disciples desperately needed some hope.
Scripture records it to offer us the same thing.
Some hope when we need it most.
Jesus had just dropped an emotional bomb on His disciples at Caesarea Philippi. For the first time, He revealed that He would die in Jerusalem, and be resurrected (see Matthew 16:21).
But they only heard the bad news.
They had all their hopes in Somebody who had just said He would die. Talk about a need for finding hope!
Finding Hope Between Two High Mountains
It’s interesting that apart from Jesus’ Transfiguration on Mount Hermon, the only other time Matthew’s Gospel mentions a “high mountain” is at the temptation of Jesus. Satan took Jesus “to a very high mountain and showed Him all the kingdoms of the world and their glory” (Matthew 4:8).
We often find ourselves wandering in the valley between these two mountains, don’t we?
- Between temptation and transfiguration—between a place near Satan and a place near God.
- Between a place filled with hopeless desperation, weakness and frustration, where God seems so distant and His goodness a farce—and a place where God’s presence seems so palpable, so reassuring, so good, so satisfying that we’re convinced He is all we’ll ever need.
Finding Hope Beyond Today’s Pain
Does the life God has given you often overshadow you with discouragement? You are not alone.
Jesus’ Transfiguration showed a group of disillusioned disciples the glory on the other side of the struggle. The event showed them the glory they would experience with Jesus one day.
This would prove critical for them in the days and years ahead—a lesson in motivation and finding hope Peter would return to again and again in his writings (mouse over these references and read what Peter wrote: 1 Peter 1:3-9, 13; 4:13; 5:1; 2 Peter 1:16-19).
Finding hope to go on comes from looking beyond today’s pain to tomorrow’s promise. (Tweet that.)
The Transfiguration gives us hope because it shows us our future.
And it’s a good one.
Tell me what you think: Have you ever thought of Jesus’ Transfiguration as a window of hope? To leave a comment, just click here.
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This post is adapted from Wayne’s book, Walking in the Footsteps of Jesus: A Journey Through the Lands and Lessons of Christ.
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