It’s almost Easter!
And so, I wanted to share a post to commemorate this.
The following is my response to a Daily Post prompt. I hope you’ll enjoy reading it.
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The Daily Post – Daily Word Prompt: FORLORN
My Chambers 21st Century Dictionary gave the following definitions:
Forlorn: 1exceedingly unhappy; miserable.
2deserted; forsaken.
3desperate.
Have you ever felt forlorn?
The word for me conjures up a picture of a typical Charles Dickens’ character.
I have an image of a poor young orphan child—and I mean dirt poor. She goes to live with relatives who clearly do not want her. She is marginalised from family life, turned into a skivvy and treated abysmally.
The next thing that comes to mind when I think of this word forlorn, is Jesus’ close disciples—apart from Judas of course! How they must have been devastated after his death.
For three years they’d shared his life, heard his sermons, engaged with his teachings, watched his miracles and harboured hope for a life where they’d no longer be subject to the Romans.
But then he dies!
This was not part of their script. They’d bought into the concept of the kingdom of heaven… the righteous rule of a holy and just man—their friend Jesus Christ. And if Jesus was the ruler, and they were his close friends, surely they were going to figure in the leadership team – right?
We know that they thought about things like that… that they quarrelled among themselves regarding who was going to be the greatest. We even hear about two shrewd brothers, who went so far as to get their mother to ask Jesus if he’d grant them the honour of sitting either side of him, in the new kingdom.
Each disciple had hopes – high hopes. No longer would they be the underdogs. Oh No! They would be top dogs!
So when the religious leaders conspired to kill Jesus, when they arrested him and brought false charges against him, when they stirred up the crowd to ask for Barabbas (a murderer and thief) to be released, rather than their friend Jesus (who’d done absolutely nothing wrong, absolutely nothing worthy of death), when they watched him being nailed to the cross, when they witnessed him die and then buried, all their hopes, all their expectations, all their dreams were buried along with him. They were forlorn.
What to do?
Well, go back to their pre-Jesus life. Go back to their trade. Go back to fishing.
However, whilst they struggled with their confusion and feelings of disillusionment, whilst they threw their nets half-heartedly into the sea; their friend, their Saviour, their teacher, their master, their dead and buried hero, appears as large as life, on the beach.
And when they finally recognise him, when they realise that the strange thing he’d told them about (that he’d rise from the dead), had actually happened, their sense of forlornness disappeared. Their hopes were resurrected. Their dreams of a new kingdom were revived.
Their friend, the Son of God, was ALIVE!
Dear reader, have you ever felt forlorn? Have you ever considered yourself to be an orphan, whether literally or metaphorically?
Jesus is longing to be your friend. And he is an exceptional friend, a faithful friend. You can be confident that whatever you say to him will never be shared with anyone else. He will keep your secrets. And unlike your bestie, your BFF, when you share your heart, your hurts, your fears and failures, your desires and dreams, Jesus can do more than just listen, he can actually help you.
Purpose-driven believer, whether you are looking for support or solutions, Jesus is both willing and able to do something about your circumstances. He can heal your hurts. He can transform you into a new person. He can give you hope, a confident expectation that no matter what happens in your life, you can emerge as a victorious overcomer.
Dear friend, Jesus can turn your forlorn hopes into miraculous reality. If you don’t know Jesus as your Saviour and friend, I highly recommend him. And if you’ve been acquainted with him in the past but circumstances have caused you to lose meaningful contact, to withdraw from, even abandon him, let me encourage you to mend that relationship, to trust him once again. Do it TODAY.
You will find no better friend, believe me.
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If you’d like to participate, or read what others wrote on this prompt, please visit: https://dailypost.wordpress.com/prompts/forlorn/
CREDIT: the above CCO image comes courtesy of Pixabay.com
Colossians 3:1-3 (NLT) Since you have been raised to new life with Christ, set your sights on the realities of heaven, where Christ sits in the place of honor at God’s right hand. Think about the things of heaven, not the things of earth. For you died to this life, and your real life is hidden with Christ in God. And when Christ, who is your life, is revealed to the whole world, you will share in all his glory.
In the back garden, I planted tulips and daffodils in pots, pink, white and mauve trailing Fuchsias in two hanging baskets. Another pot held white lilies with thin black edging called Eyeliner.
So when my teacher read out another class-mate’s name and the title of his story, I literally could not believe my ears. Numb with shock and disbelief, as the story was read out, I became even more confused. The story was definitely inferior! Now, whilst I may not make such a claim out of sheer modesty, I certainly don’t say this from sour grapes, or out of malice.
I walked away from that teacher dumbfounded. All sorts of silent accusations hurled themselves at and deafened me. Cheat! Liar! Shame shrouded me. Low self-esteem whimpered within me and abject misery consumed me.
