Let’s Go for a Walk
The Everleigh monthly calendar where I live is full of activities. I pick and choose those that appeal to me. After all, I have my own activities calendar: writing blogs, intimate devotion times, the fitness center, hanging with my children and grands, encouraging and counseling others. Yesterday was different. A new 9:30 am Walking Club began. That resonated with me. I met the group in the lobby. Only five of us so far but a good way to start. Lots of chatter! Pssst! I was hoping for a “God” insert along the way. He didn’t disappoint. The subject came up about the homeless people. I told them about Jesus being homeless and now I’m challenged to see the face of Jesus in them and pray for them.
I started writing this blog before the walk. I was already inspired by the story of the two disciples who were walking home to Emmaus from Jerusalem after the crucifixion and the Lord’s resurrection. (Luke 24:13-35). Obviously, the women’s reports that Jesus had shown up alive wasn’t enough proof for them. They might have been thinking they were delusional “drama queens” who had let the torture, the cross, and the burial of their Master get to them.
Can you imagine what that walk looked like? The two disciples gave little notice to the scenery or even the dust they were stirring up as they pressed on. They felt abandoned and without hope. Then, out of nowhere, a stranger interrupted their anxious thoughts and conversation to walk with them. Jesus acted like He didn’t know what had been going on the last few days. Jesus must have loved those two disciples so much to take the time to walk and talk with them. He Who suffered, died, and was raised from the dead began to open God’s Word and remind them of what He had told them from the beginning. Their sadness and confusion gave way to great joy and expectation. Scripture says: “They were kept from recognizing Jesus”. Jesus had an ulterior motive in mind. He wanted them to SEE Him in scripture before they saw Him up close and personal. As He spoke, everything they thought had been lost was restored — and with even greater promise.
When Jesus went home with them, broke bread, blessed it and gave it to them, their eyes opened and they recognized Him. Then He disappeared. They said to each other, “Did not our hearts burn within us while He talked to us on the road, while He opened to us the Scriptures?”
And that is my prayer, too. That my heart would burn within me at the reality of His unfailing Word and that I would be stirred by His presence in my life daily. Don’t you love it when you’ve read or heard a scripture many times, but then suddenly, we read it or hear it explained again, but this time it’s like a light comes on and we finally “get it” — just like those disciples realized it was Jesus with them. Suddenly God reveals scripture to us in a new way and it’s His perfect timing for “His Word to be a lamp to our feet and a light to our pathway.”
Perhaps, if we continue in this magnificent truth of our risen Lord daily, our hearts will continue to burn with faith, His love will flow from us to others who need an encounter with Him, and we just may be His hands extended to them. We are those disciples on the road to Emmaus, living our lives in the real world, walking along with Jesus who is always there accompanying us on the road, whether we recognize Him or not. He listens to us. He understands us. He gets us. Are you confused, hurting, perplexed or need advice and wise counsel today? Maybe it’s time to go for a life-changing walk with Jesus today.