LUKE 24. The two men on the Emmaus road communed together over the events that had taken place in recent days concerning Jesus’ life, death and resurrection. The scripture records that the two “REASONED” together, Luke 24:15.
Dependable witnesses had seen Jesus’ empty tomb. His body was gone and at this moment in time, Jesus had not yet appeared to anyone in His resurrected body. No one had seen Him.
These two friends on the Emmaus road allowed their reasoning of the facts to influence their believing against the truth. In spite of what they saw and heard, Jesus was still the awaited Messiah, the Redeemer of Israel. They went in to unbelief because they “leaned on their understanding.” They had not seen the risen Christ. The tomb was empty. The facts were right but their conclusions were wrong. ( Sounds familiar?) Where was He?
They were part of a company of people who were Jesus’ closest friends and followers but they did not believe the report of the women who had first discovered the empty tomb and witnessed the angelic manifestation and message, “….Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen, remember how He spoke to you when he was in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and crucified, and the third day rise again.” Luke 24:4 – 7. The grieving company did not believe the women’s report but judged them as IDLE TALES! v11, “And their words seemed to them as idle tales and they did not believe them.”
As the two men communed and REASONED on the Emmaus road, Jesus joined them on their journey and walked with them. (Jesus comes to us where we are.) He expounded all things to their troubled minds and finally revealed Himself. Mercy walked in, their eyes were opened, His presence dispelled confusion, peace and joy flooded in to remove all doubt.
Sometimes during “the trial of our faith”, in the midst of working things through, we can focus on the facts, what we see and understand and our REASONING takes over. Because our focus is wrong we lose sight of what God has said. We forget that “His understanding is infinite,”….not ours, and His ways are “past finding out.”
Proverbs 3:5-7, “Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding……..” Our own understanding is our reasoning which takes us away from what God has declared.
God is never in a hurry. We want to arrive at our goal…quickly! But to God, the process can be more important to Him as He works His will in to our lives, for His glory.
Our responsibility is to make a choice to trust what He has said, enter in to His rest and wait for Him to fulfil His word at His appointed time. We remember the words and the promise God gave to Moses, “My presence shall go with thee and I will give thee rest.” His Presence is evidenced in us by His “rest.”
NEVER SURRENDER THE SENSE OF HIS PRESENCE TO A SITUATION.
