A lot of people are asking a lot of questions about how to prepare for the days ahead. Should I buy gold? Do I stay in the stock market? How can I protect my assets?
There's nothing wrong with asking such questions. I have recently posted two articles that deal with the matter of preparation ("Don't Leave Your Cow in the Yard" and "God's Provision -- Our Responsibility").
I would not presume to advise anyone about their financial decisions. I have questions about that myself. But I will say this ...
Luke 24:13-27 records an interesting story of two disciples who walked on the Emmaus Road with the Lord, but did not experience his presence. He was near but they failed to recognize Him. Why? What caused their blindness to the presence of Christ? From their story we can learn how we often miss the presence of God.
They missed His presence because ...
They were overwhelmed with their problem.
Their dream world had just been shattered … their hopes had evaporated. They were on their way home after the most traumatic moments of their life. Their hopes had been nailed to a cross and buried in a tomb. Fixated on their pain and disappointment, they could not recognize Him though He was walking right beside them.
Have you ever had a moment when you were so overwhelmed by the gravity of your problems and the pain of what was hurting you … facing the reality that something you have dreamed of is never going to come true … so devastated by your disappointments and overwhelmed with confusion that you lost all sense of God’s presence and found it difficult to believe that He was near?
You’ll never experience the presence of God until you change your focus from your sorrow to your Savior ... and you don’t change your focus by what you feel, but by what you know.
They were ignorant of God's Word.
I could have used a nicer word than “ignorant,” I suppose, but Jesus used an even stronger word. He used the word “foolish.” In essence, "If you had understood the Word of God … if you knew what the prophets had said you would not be in this mess." Much of their confusion was rooted in their lack of understanding and misunderstanding of God’s word.
As they walked, He patiently taught them the Word of God, "beginning with Moses" (the first books of the Bible), through the Psalms and prophets, explaining what had been written of Messiah. Later they would say, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the way?"
I’m not going to say that if you read the Bible everyday and memorize scripture you will never have difficult times and moments of sorrow. But I will say that unless you have an experience of God that comes through the knowledge of His word, you will have a difficult time seeing Him in the pain and grief of your life.
The better you know someone the less explaining they have to do. The more we know God the less explanation we need. The closeness of your relationship with God is directly related to the depth of your knowledge of His Word. It is in the Word of God that I most often find Him.
They were slow to believe.
In other words, their faith was deficient. This is one of the consequences of their ignorance of the scripture. Since "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17), it is understandable that their faith was weak.
In the course of my life I have stood with many people who have looked to me for an answer when I did not have one. I could not answer the searing question, "Why?" I have learned that there is a point when I simply must stand in faith without an answer -- "the just shall live by faith."
I stand in the simple faith that ...
Finally, they missed His presence because of ...
Their faulty preconditioning.
Mark writes only two verses about this story, but he provides incredible insight in just a few words. In 16:12 he writes ...
Elijah was so intent upon the wind, earthquake, and the fire that he almost missed His presence. In the past God had revealed Himself to Israel at Horeb (Sinai) in this very manner (Ex. 19:18ff). Was Elijah trying to relive an experience of the past? Did he expect that once again God would be in the wind, earthquake, and fire as he had before?
As glorious as that past experience had been, God's intention for Elijah went beyond a rehearsal of yesterday's glory. He came to his servant in an unprecedented manner ... He spoke in the still small voice. The Hebrew text suggests that the "still small voice" was not a voice at all -- that God "spoke" in the silence.
Luke finishes this story with these words:
There's nothing wrong with asking such questions. I have recently posted two articles that deal with the matter of preparation ("Don't Leave Your Cow in the Yard" and "God's Provision -- Our Responsibility").
I would not presume to advise anyone about their financial decisions. I have questions about that myself. But I will say this ...
the single most important preparation you can make is to draw closer to God.Most Christians today are in the outer court -- that's where you'll find the fun, food, and fellowship. But in the days ahead, an outer court experience will not be enough.
Luke 24:13-27 records an interesting story of two disciples who walked on the Emmaus Road with the Lord, but did not experience his presence. He was near but they failed to recognize Him. Why? What caused their blindness to the presence of Christ? From their story we can learn how we often miss the presence of God.
They missed His presence because ...
They were overwhelmed with their problem.
Their dream world had just been shattered … their hopes had evaporated. They were on their way home after the most traumatic moments of their life. Their hopes had been nailed to a cross and buried in a tomb. Fixated on their pain and disappointment, they could not recognize Him though He was walking right beside them.
Have you ever had a moment when you were so overwhelmed by the gravity of your problems and the pain of what was hurting you … facing the reality that something you have dreamed of is never going to come true … so devastated by your disappointments and overwhelmed with confusion that you lost all sense of God’s presence and found it difficult to believe that He was near?
You’ll never experience the presence of God until you change your focus from your sorrow to your Savior ... and you don’t change your focus by what you feel, but by what you know.
They were ignorant of God's Word.
I could have used a nicer word than “ignorant,” I suppose, but Jesus used an even stronger word. He used the word “foolish.” In essence, "If you had understood the Word of God … if you knew what the prophets had said you would not be in this mess." Much of their confusion was rooted in their lack of understanding and misunderstanding of God’s word.
As they walked, He patiently taught them the Word of God, "beginning with Moses" (the first books of the Bible), through the Psalms and prophets, explaining what had been written of Messiah. Later they would say, "Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the way?"
I’m not going to say that if you read the Bible everyday and memorize scripture you will never have difficult times and moments of sorrow. But I will say that unless you have an experience of God that comes through the knowledge of His word, you will have a difficult time seeing Him in the pain and grief of your life.
The better you know someone the less explaining they have to do. The more we know God the less explanation we need. The closeness of your relationship with God is directly related to the depth of your knowledge of His Word. It is in the Word of God that I most often find Him.
They were slow to believe.
In other words, their faith was deficient. This is one of the consequences of their ignorance of the scripture. Since "faith comes by hearing, and hearing by the Word of God" (Romans 10:17), it is understandable that their faith was weak.
In the course of my life I have stood with many people who have looked to me for an answer when I did not have one. I could not answer the searing question, "Why?" I have learned that there is a point when I simply must stand in faith without an answer -- "the just shall live by faith."
I stand in the simple faith that ...
God is too wise to be mistaken.
God is too good to be unkind.
When you don't understand ...
When you can't trace His hand ...
When you can't find His plan ...
Trust His heart.
Finally, they missed His presence because of ...
Their faulty preconditioning.
Mark writes only two verses about this story, but he provides incredible insight in just a few words. In 16:12 he writes ...
“Jesus appeared to them in another form.”How often do we miss His presence because of our stereotyped expectations of God -- that He will reveal Himself in a particular manner? We become so preoccupied with our expectations, based on prior experiences, that we miss Him when He chooses to come "in another form."
Elijah was so intent upon the wind, earthquake, and the fire that he almost missed His presence. In the past God had revealed Himself to Israel at Horeb (Sinai) in this very manner (Ex. 19:18ff). Was Elijah trying to relive an experience of the past? Did he expect that once again God would be in the wind, earthquake, and fire as he had before?
As glorious as that past experience had been, God's intention for Elijah went beyond a rehearsal of yesterday's glory. He came to his servant in an unprecedented manner ... He spoke in the still small voice. The Hebrew text suggests that the "still small voice" was not a voice at all -- that God "spoke" in the silence.
What kind of heart must I have to hear God in the silence?God often breaks the mold. He refuses to fit our definitions. He defies our modus operandi for the Divine. He sometimes reveals His presence in unprecedented ways. He may not come the next time in the same way He has come in the past. Will your faulty preconditioning keep you from seeing Him if reveals Himself in a different form?
Luke finishes this story with these words:
"They began to relate their experiences on the road and how He was recognized by them in the breaking of the bread" (Luke 24:35).Christ always reveals Himself to those who will sit and commune with Him at the table of the heart.
