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When You Can’t See Straight, Remember the Resurrection

There’s something about talking to someone who’s already been where you’re going.

If you’re just starting middle school, it helps to talk to someone who’s in high school.
If you’re starting high school, someone who’s graduating from college can offer insight.
If you're newly married, talking to a couple who’s been married thirty years can be grounding.
If you’re expecting your first child, someone who’s raised a few can put things in perspective.
If you’re facing illness or aging, talking to someone who’s already walked through it can bring real comfort.

What do these people bring that we don’t yet have?

Perspective.

They’ve seen things we haven’t.
They know where the bumps are, where the turns come, what’s around the bend.
They speak from experience, not theory. And that changes how we walk the road.

And in the same way, the resurrection of Jesus offers us the ultimate perspective — a way of seeing life that we could never come up with on our own.

Think of the disciples.

After Jesus’ death, they were hiding behind locked doors.
Confused. Ashamed. Afraid.

Then Jesus appeared. Alive.

And their perspective shifted.

Their circumstances didn’t suddenly become easy.
Their questions didn’t vanish.
But the resurrection changed how they saw everything.

They went from hiding to preaching.
From silence to boldness.
From protecting themselves to giving their lives for the gospel.

Not because life got easier.
But because they had seen Jesus — and they knew that death wasn’t the end.

That’s what resurrection perspective does.
It doesn’t erase hardship — but it absolutely changes how we walk through it.

 

Over the past eight weeks, our church has been walking through a series called The Eight Gifts of the Resurrection.

We’ve looked at how the risen Jesus gives us:

  • Peace for your Spirit – when life is chaotic
  • Pardon for your Past – when shame lingers
  • Purpose for your Life – when your calling feels unclear
  • People to Live With – a community shaped by grace and truth
  • Power to Love Generously – even when it’s hard
  • Pathway to Unity – especially when division feels easier
  • Presence of the Spirit – even when we don’t know how to pray

And this week, we named the eighth gift:

Perspective for the Journey.

The gift that doesn’t take away the struggle —
But helps us see through it with hope.

In Luke 8, we meet a man who had lost everything. 

He was living among the tombs. Naked. Chained. Screaming. Tormented.

He couldn’t even ask Jesus for help.
But Jesus helped him anyway.

He cast out the demons.
He set the man free.

It’s a picture of pure grace.
Romans 5:6 says, “While we were still weak, at the right time Christ died for the ungodly.”
This man didn’t earn healing.
He didn’t even seek it.

But Jesus saw him — and acted.

And then something strange happens.
The demons beg Jesus not to send them into the abyss.
So he lets them go into a herd of pigs instead.

It’s a wild moment — but here’s the takeaway:
If Jesus listens to them,
How much more will He listen to you, His beloved?

 

After the pigs rush into the lake and drown, the townspeople come and see the man sitting — clothed, in his right mind.

And they’re afraid.

They ask Jesus to leave.

Because sometimes resurrection power is too much.

Too disruptive.
Too unpredictable.
Too holy.

Sometimes we’d rather stay chained to the familiar than be set free by the unknown.

And that’s something we all need to pray about.
That we wouldn’t get held captive by what’s comfortable —
But stay open to the holy disruption that Jesus brings.

 

Meanwhile, the man who was healed begs to go with Jesus.

But Jesus says no.

Not because he’s unworthy.
Not because he’s unready.

But because he has something new to do:

“Go home and tell how much God has done for you.”

He doesn’t become a theologian.
He doesn’t become a pastor.
He becomes a witness.

Not by pressure.
Not by performance.
But by perspective.

He saw what Jesus had done —
And it changed how he lived.

 

But here’s an honest truth: sometimes we lose that perspective.

When work is overwhelming.
When a relationship is fraying.
When your kids are struggling.
When grief catches you off guard.
When you pray and it feels like no one is listening.

In those moments, the gifts of the resurrection can feel… theoretical.
Peace? Unreachable.
Pardon? Uncertain.
Purpose? Foggy.
People? Draining.
Love? Impossible.
Unity? Laughable.
The Spirit? Silent.

And the enemy whispers:

Fix it yourself. Take control. Don’t wait on God.

And if Satan can’t destroy your faith, he’ll try to distort your perspective.

 

So what do we do?

We gather.
We pray.
We confess.
We open Scripture.
We encourage one another.

Not to prove something to God —
But to remember everything He’s done.

Paul puts it like this:

“If Christ has not been raised, your faith is futile…
But in fact, Christ has been raised from the dead.”
(1 Corinthians 15:17, 20)

The resurrection isn’t just a footnote —
It’s the foundation.

It tells us that the unbelievable is true.
And that the impossible is possible.

 

So when the gifts of the resurrection feel far away…

When peace feels impossible — remember the resurrection.
When pardon seems too good to be true — remember the resurrection.
When purpose feels vague or heavy — remember the resurrection.
When people wear you out — remember the resurrection.
When you have no power to love — remember the resurrection.
When unity seems like a fairytale — remember the resurrection.
When the Spirit feels far away — remember the resurrection.
And when you lose your perspective completely —

Look to the empty tomb.
Jesus is alive.
Let the resurrection of Jesus guide and guard your perspective.
Because the resurrection changes how we see everything.