Thrown Down, but not Broken

On the Saturday after Good Friday, the disciples were locked in the upper room. Fearing for their lives.
Even on Easter Sunday, after a few of them had seen and believe, they were still uncertain of what it all meant and returned to the upper room and locked the door.

John 20: 19 That Sunday evening the disciples were meeting behind locked doors because they were afraid of the Jewish leaders. Suddenly, Jesus was standing there among them! “Peace be with you,” he said

Up until that point, I imagine they were solidly fixed in the left hand column of this verse (2 Cor 4:8-9)

     We are pressed on every side by troubles,                     but we are not crushed. 
     We are perplexed,                                                             but not driven to despair. 
     We are hunted down,                                                       but never abandoned by God. 
     We get knocked down,                                                     but we are not destroyed.

Then Jesus came and declared himself to be the Prince of Peace. He is the one that works all those red things in the left column into the green things on the right, in his time, and through his body.

I recently experience some major trauma and initially this verse rang fairly hollow, because I did fell pretty crushed and abandoned and knocked down.

Easter is the message of hope, that God MEETS US in the darkest of places and shines light in.
As it says in the Message "What Jesus did among them, he does in us -- He LIVES!