Hi, welcome to Redeem the Commute. I’m Ryan, your host for the daily challenges.  This week’s topic is part of our series called EPIC where we’ve been exploring how Jesus is found throughout the Old Testament part of the Bible. We’re reading some epic old stories from the Old Testament, some of which you might have heard before, some of which might be new to you. But our hope is that in each of them we’ll see how they’re part of one big epic story: the story of the Bible, the story of the world, God’s story.

Our daily challenges are meant to help you explore what it means to follow Jesus, even if you don’t have a lot of time. That’s why we have a rhythm that keeps us in sync, even if we’re not a community that meets together in person regularly. This means every Monday we introduce the week’s idea. Every Tuesday we study it in the Bible. Every Wednesday we see how that challenges and transforms our thinking on the topic. Thursdays we try to apply and live it out. Friday is a day for prayer and reflection before we take a rest on Saturday, and Sundays we meet together with other Christians in community.

Have you ever seen a hopeless situation, and then been surprised to see it turn around?

There are some famous stories of comeback companies – like Apple, for example.

Steve Jobs was one of Apple’s visionary co-founders, yet the board kicked him out of the company in 1985.  What followed were years of poor performance by Apple, and great innovations from Jobs.

Sales dropped 18%, on average, for three years from 1995 to 1998.  People were ready to count Apple out – that Microsoft and PC manufacturers of the world would win.

But he returned to the company he founded in 1997, and the rest is history.  He brought about new innovations like the iPod, iPhone and iPad, and today Apple is the wealthiest company in the world.

This week we’ll learn about a prophet’s vision, from a time when most people thought Israel was done.  God’s people were divided into two nations, and under immense international pressure.  After much upheaval, the Babylonians had occupied their land.  This was a time of hopelessness, and this vision was meant to give hope, so they wouldn’t count themselves out.

Question: When have you seen a hopeless situation redeemed?