We are blind, blind to the future. Just ask Jairus. He is the leader of the synagogue, the most important man in the community. But the Jairus in this Bible story is not the clear-sighted, black-frocked civic leader. He is, instead, a blind man begging for a gift. He falls at Jesus’ feet, saying, “My daughter is dying. Please come and put your hands on her so she will be healed and will live” (Mark 5:23 NCV).

You know, there are times in life when everything you have to offer is nothing compared to what you are asking to receive. The situation is starkly simple: Jairus is blind to the future, and Jesus knows the future. So Jairus asks for help. And Jesus, who loves to give new beginnings, goes to give it. He’ll do the same for you. Do you face an uncertain future? Ask Jesus to help you.

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How did Jesus endure the terror of the crucifixion? He went first to the Father with his fears. He modeled the words of Psalm 56:3 (NLT): “When I am afraid, I will put my trust in you.” Do the same with yours. And be honest. Do what Jesus did – open your heart. And be specific; Jesus was. “Take this cup,” he prayed. Share the details. God has plenty of time. He also has plenty of compassion, he doesn’t think your fears are foolish or silly, he knows how you feel, and he knows what you need.

In the case of Christ God did not take away the cross, but he took the fear. Who is to say he won’t take away your fear? Please don’t measure the size of the mountain; talk to the One who can move it. Hope is just a look away. Now, what were you looking at?

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Jesus said, “Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering” (Luke 22:42 NCV). Jesus could have confided in his disciples. He could have assembled a prayer meeting. But when he faced fear he went first to his Father. Oh, how we tend to go everywhere else. First to the bar, to the counselor, to the self-help book, or to the friend next door. Not Jesus. The first one to hear his fear was his Father in heaven.

A millennium earlier David was urging the fear-filled to do the same. “I will fear no evil.” How could David make such a claim? Because he knew where to look. Rather than turn to the other sheep, David turned to the Shepherd. Rather than stare at the problems, he stared at the rod and staff. Because he knew where to look, David was able to say, “I will fear no evil.”

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The Bible that I carried as a child contained a picture of Jesus in the Garden of Gethsemane. He seemed peaceful. Yet one reading of the Gospels disrupts that image. Mark says, “Jesus fell to the ground” (Mark 14:35 NCV). According to Luke, Jesus was “full of pain” (Luke 22:44 NCV).

What do we do with this image of Jesus? Simple – we read it when we feel the same. We read it when we feel afraid. For isn’t it likely that fear was one of the emotions Jesus felt? He saw something in the future so fierce, so foreboding that he begged for a change of plans. “Father, if you are willing, take away this cup of suffering” (Luke 22:42 NCV).

How remarkable that Jesus felt such fear. But how kind that he told us about it. We see no mask of strength, but we do hear a request for strength. And the fact that he prayed invites us to do the same.

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Perhaps you don’t need your hope restored right now. Your jungle has become a meadow, your journey a delight. If such is the case, congratulations. But remember, we do not know what tomorrow holds. You may be one turn from a cemetery, from a virus, from an empty house. You may be a bend in the road from a jungle. And though you don’t need your hope restored today, you may tomorrow. And you need to know to whom to turn.

Or perhaps you do need hope today. You know you were not made for this place, you know you are not equipped, you want someone to lead you out. If so, put your trust in the Shepherd. He knows the path that leads to your new beginning, and he’s just waiting for you to join him.

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We ask God, “Where are you taking me? Where is the path?” And he doesn’t tell us. Oh, he may give us a hint or two, but that’s all. If he did, would we understand? Would we comprehend our location? No, we are unacquainted with this jungle. So rather than give us an answer, Jesus gives us a far greater gift – he gives us himself.

Does he remove the jungle? No, the vegetation is still thick. Does he purge the predators? No, danger still lurks. Jesus doesn’t give hope by changing the jungle; he restores our hope by giving us himself. And he has promised to stay until the very end. “I am with you always, to the very end of the age” (Matthew 28:20).

We need that reminder. We all need that reminder, for all of us need hope.

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God, your rescuer, has the right vision. He also has the right direction. He made the boldest claim in the history of humanity when he declared, “I am the way” (John 14:6). People wondered if the claim was accurate. He answered their questions by cutting a path through the underbrush of sin and death…and escaping alive. He’s the only One who ever did. And he is the only One who can help you and me do the same.

He has the right vision—he has seen the homeland. He has the right directions—he has cut the path. But most of all, he is the right person because he is our God. Who knows the jungle better than the One who made it? And who knows the pitfalls of the path better than the One who has walked it?

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Our Shepherd majors in restoring hope to the soul. Whether you are a lamb lost on a craggy ledge or a city slicker alone in a deep jungle, everything changes when your rescuer appears. Your loneliness diminishes because you have fellowship. Your despair decreases because you have vision. Your confusion begins to lift because you have direction.

Now, you still haven’t left the jungle. It hasn’t changed, but you have. You have changed because your hope has been restored. And you have hope because you have met someone who can lead you out. Your good Shepherd knows that you were not made for this place, so he has come to guide you out. He is the perfect one to do so. He has the right vision, and he urges you to lift your eyes from the jungle around you and to see the heaven above you.

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Can you imagine, just for a moment, how it feels to be out of hope? If you can, you can relate to many people in this world. For many people life is a jungle. Our jungles are composed of thickets of contagious diseases and broken hearts and empty wallets. Our forests are framed with hospital walls and divorce courts.

What would it take to restore your hope? Three answers come quickly to mind. The first would be a person who knows the way out – someone you can trust. And from him you need some vision – someone to lift your spirits. Perhaps most important, you need direction. If you have someone who can take you from this place to the right place, now you’ve found someone who can restore your hope. Jesus offers to do this for you. Or, to use the words of King David: “He restores my soul” (Psalm 23:3).

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The Scripture says, “And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit” (2 Corinthians 3:18 ESV).                  

When God found me, I was a fruitless stump with deep roots. Even so, he found a place for me. It required a good yank and no small amount of cleaning up, but he took me from badlands to his home,  and he displayed me as a work of his own. Such is the work of the Holy Spirit.

My friend, the Spirit of God will transform you into a handiwork of heaven and display you in full view. Now, expect to be scrubbed, sanded, and varnished a time or two or ten. But in the end, the result will be worth the discomfort.

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