How many
times in our struggle to discern the leadership of the Spirit are we
overwhelmed by circumstances that obscure our vision of the Truth
and interfere with our perception of God's revelation for us? We
cannot afford to be so consumed with circumstances that we allow the
enemy to steal the promises that God has given us.
We must
always be aware that Christ is ever-present with us. In Luke 24, we
have an example where Jesus was present with His disciples, but they
failed to recognize Him. Luke 24:13, “And, behold, two of them went
that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was from Jerusalem
about threescore furlongs. 14And they talked together of all these
things which had happened. 15And it came to pass, that, while they
communed together and reasoned, Jesus himself drew near, and went
with them.”
In this
passage, Jesus joined with and began talking to two of His disciples
as they journeyed on the road to Emmaus. They were expressing their
concerns about the events surrounding Jesus' death. They had expected
that He would be the one who would deliver Israel from the demeaning
oppression of Roman domination and become the new King of Israel.
Luke 24:21, “But we trusted that it had been he which should have
redeemed Israel: and beside all this, today is the third day since
these things were done.” Their hopes and dreams of a redeemed
Israel had been destroyed when Jesus was taken and ultimately killed.
Now, to add insult to injury, someone had stolen His body.
Luke
24:25, “Then he said unto them, O fools, and slow of heart to
believe all that the prophets have spoken: 26Ought not Christ to have
suffered these things, and to enter into his glory? 27And beginning
at Moses and all the prophets, he expounded unto them in all the
scriptures the things concerning himself.” The prophets had written
in specific detail about the coming Messiah, His suffering, and His
sacrifice. But the loss that these disciples had experienced blotted
out their vision of God's promises.
As they
sat together to partake of the evening meal, Jesus broke the bread
and blessed it. Immediately, their eyes were opened, and they realized
that it had been Jesus walking with them. Then, He vanished from
their presence. They had been entertaining the HOPE of their lives,
their Deliverer, their Salvation, their Miracle restored to life!
However, they did not realize that they were walking with the Risen
Christ until He opened their spiritual eyes.
Is it
possible that we stand in the presence of our HOPE for life's journey
without realizing it? Could it be that our SALVATION, our
DELIVERANCE, our MIRACLE is presently walking with us, but we do not
see? The WAY out, the DOOR is open, but our spiritual vision is
obscured by the circumstances. We see only what is visible to the
natural eyes when Jesus is orchestrating His plan in the spiritual
realm. Lord, open the eyes of our HEARTS that we may see what You are
doing in us. Help us to know that we do not walk this path alone and
that You are with us in each and every step we take. You are our
faithful companion! Lord, give us Eyes To See and Ears To Hear!