Things Aren’t Always What They Seem

“Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him, and he disappeared from their sight. They asked each other, ‘Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked to us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?’ “ Luke 24:31, 32

Welcome to Peniel CrossRoads, where we embrace Jesus’s heart and together live out the call to biblical unity!

The scene was the road to Emmaus. It was three days after Jesus’s crucifixion where Luke expounded on two disciples’ encounter with their resurrected Lord in Luke 24.

Finding themselves seven miles from Jerusalem, Cleopas and the other disciple were devastated and confused about everything that had transpired leading to Jesus’s death. Through their walking and talking together, they hoped to make some sense of it all.

Separated from the Eleven, they only had each other to confide in…until Jesus came along. Not recognizing Him at first, they listened to everything He relayed to them about the events of the past few days and how it all aligned with prophecy and divine purposes. And in retrospect, they realized that, as they listened, their hearts burned within them, even as they could not recognize Jesus himself.

Then while breaking bread together—eating together—Jesus gave thanks and blessed the meal, and suddenly their eyes were opened. It was Jesus the Lord in their midst!

Can you relate? Can you resonate with not knowing what God was up to until after the fact? Have you ever found yourself in the middle of something new, something you were sure God had ordained, until you discovered that this thing He called you to was not turning out as expected?

Isn’t this frequently the story of our lives? God calls us to a life of faith—to walk by hearing and not by sight. But He doesn’t frequently tell us the specifics of this walk until the very moment we need to know. And then often the decision or turn we expected reveals itself as unexpected, although in retrospect, it was much better than anticipated!

What was it about the breaking of bread that caused the disciples to have their eyes opened? Perhaps Jesus knew that they needed to pour out all their grief and confusion aloud first. He knew their hearts were broken, and He wanted them to be ready to receive His mind and mission. Certainly, He wanted to teach them God’s higher purpose, and how that purpose always aligns with the Scriptures. On the other hand, I think Jesus sincerely enjoyed their conversation and handling conflicting emotions with truth. It’s the Truth that sets us free! (See John 8:32)

There’s something intimate about eating together. It is no coincidence that Christ instituted one of the most sacred Christian practices—the Eucharist (meaning thanksgiving)—around a simple meal. The necessary act of eating together in that moment with the disciples, was transformed into a spiritual encounter. Jesus wanted to invade their ordinary moments and transform them into an opportunity for grace and revelation.

Are you disappointed with the way something in your life is progressing? Do you have conflicting emotions about what you hear and sense in the environment around you? Let’s invite the Lord Jesus, by the presence of His Holy Spirit and the power of the Scriptures, to uncover God’s deeper purposes and higher aims for the glory of His Name.

Things are not always as they seem…but God has not lost control, nor is He ever disappointed. And He never, ever loses perspective!

“Therefore, as it is written, ‘Let the one who boasts boast in the Lord.’ ” 1 Corinthians 1:31