On the road to Emmaus, two men were walking from Jerusalem and were talking about all of the events that had happened over the past weekend. There were no big games on television, no bachelors chosen, and no school shootings in the news to speak of. No, something much bigger had taken place and was the talk of the town. Jesus had been crucified. The man who claimed to be the one and only son of God. The one who claimed he could rebuild the city in 3 days. The one who said that the only way to the father in heaven was through him and him alone. Yeah, that Jesus. He had been killed and buried like a criminal.
And yet, when Jesus draws near to these men on their way to Emmaus, they do not recognize him. In fact, when he asks them what they are talking about, they basically say, "Are you an idiot? Have you not been around these last few days to see what's been going on? Where have you been, under a rock?" And yet, while they question him, they do not see that he is the man they are talking about! He was right there, in their faces! But they still didn't see him for who he truly was.
Too often, we get carried away in our troubles and turmoil, or even in our rejoice and celebration, that we don't realize what we have in front of us. We are constantly asking for help, yet we forget that we are never without it.
Isaiah 43:2-4 in The Message says,
"When you're in over your head, I'll be there with you.
When you're in rough waters, you will not go down.
When you're between a rock and a hard place,
it won't be a dead end—
Because I am God, your personal God,
The Holy of Israel, your Savior.
I paid a huge price for you:
all of Egypt, with rich Cush and Seba thrown in!
That's how much you mean to me!
That's how much I love you!
I'd sell off the whole world to get you back,
trade the creation just for you."
Is this for real? When I am too scared to move on; when I am stressed beyond belief; when I am read to surrender, God will be with me. Because He loves me so much, that He would even give up the life of his own son to be tortured, whipped, flogged, ridiculed, crushed, killed and buried at the hands of others. All to ensure my eternity with Him.
And after knowing all of that, how could I not recognize the man that gave his life for me when he's standing in my face, asking me about these events that I am talking about? Unfortunately, it's all too easy to be distracted in disbelief or in my own selfish issues. I am too busy looking for Jesus in my troubles that I don't see him, right there beside me. I know when I look in the past I can see that I was never left alone. That I had a companion in him through my own "troubled waters." But my goal is to not forget about that in the future. Because I know I will never be without trouble. And I will never not ask for help. But I can't let myself forget that he is and always will be right there. I just need to know how to recognize him.
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