Hope on the Rollercoaster
Contributed by Alice Rydberg

With praise and thanksgiving they sang to the Lord: “He is good; his love toward Israel endures forever.” And all the people gave a great shout of praise to the Lord, because the foundation of the house of the Lord was laid. But many of the older priests and Levites and family heads, who had seen the former temple, wept aloud when they saw the foundation of this temple being laid, while many others shouted for joy. No one could distinguish the sound of the shouts of joy from the sound of weeping, because the people made so much noise. —Ezra 3:11-13

Everyone gathered for the celebration, a dedication of the newly laid temple foundation. Our text reveals, however, that there were mixed emotions in the crowd. Those who remembered a more glorious past were disappointed, while those who came without pre-scripted expectations saw a hope for the future.

We often compose our own narratives, and if things start lining up with our imagined happy endings, it’s tempting to think, This is where we mount our comeback…; this is where we’re vindicated…; this is where we win…. But anticipating an outcome that meets the expectations of our own narratives can disappoint. For example, when the exiles returning from Babylon looked back on “the glory days” and compared that to their present realities, they could only weep.

Hundreds of years after Zerubbabel, Ezra and Nehemiah provided leadership to the returning remnant of Israel, the people of God again felt let down by a seeming lack of grandeur and triumph. Where they expected a leader with a proud lineage and pedigree, Jesus came into a poor family, literally born among animals (Luke 2:11-12). Where they expected a royal personage reminiscent of the valiant King David, Jesus hailed from a backwater town, prompting even one of His disciples to exclaim, “Nazareth! Can anything good come from there?” (John1:46). Where they expected a warrior-messiah leading a victorious revolt against Rome, Jesus rode into Jerusalem “lowly and riding on … the foal of a donkey” (Zechariah 9:9). None of this was according to the script that the faithful had clung to for generations, but it faithfully fulfilled every prophecy given to God’s people through His prophets.

Our own lives will have ups and downs, and we will respond with both shouts of joy and sounds of weeping. But if we want to know where God is in all of it, we can ask Him instead of creating our own narratives of success and meaning. Our hope will not be disappointed if it is in God (Isaiah 49:23b). And in the rollercoaster of life, our souls will find rest in God if we find our hope in Him (Psalm 62:5).

Consider—

╬ Are there ways that I am letting my own narratives of success and meaning take the place of God’s plan in my life? Or do I find myself mourning the loss of things from the past instead of looking with hope for the future that God is shaping?

╬ In John, Chapter 2, Jesus refers to His own body as the temple. How can we as God’s people be giving ourselves to the building of this new temple?

╬ Father, even as we turn to you, we have our own hopes and desires that we expect You to fulfill. Help us to turn our hearts to You such that we desire and hope for the things that You are creating anew. In Jesus’ name we pray, Amen.