Good Shepherd Lutheran

Just Ask Cleopas
Have you ever had the experience of not being able to see something that’s right in front of you? My husband and I often have this discussion when he’s staring into the refrigerator or one of the kitchen cabinets. He’s looking everywhere, and he can’t find what he wants. Then I step in, and I can usually find it within about 5 seconds. Of course, I have the advantage of being the one who probably put it away in the first place. But sometimes what he wants is sitting on a shelf at eye level right in front him, but he just can’t see it. The fact is that all of us have times when we can’t see what’s right in front of our faces.
How about when you’re looking for God but can’t sense his presence? We feel adrift and we look for Him, and then we’re told by our more spiritually attuned friends that “He’s right there!” But we just can’t seem to see Him for ourselves. Instead of sensing God, it feels like He’s either gone or that He’d rather talk to anyone but us. When that happens, what should you do?
When you can’t see Jesus, look to the Scriptures. When you can’t see what Jesus is doing in your life or can’t hear Him speaking to you, look to the Scriptures. Go to your Bible. He’s there if only you’ll look for Him. He’s there if only you’ll really see.
When Cleopas and his friend were on the road to Emmaus, they encounter Jesus and finally start to really listen to Him, they began to realize they’d missed something important about who they’d imagined the Messiah would be. Jesus had come to liberate His people, but not as a mighty warrior but as a sacrificial lamb.
Even so, they still they didn’t recognize who was standing right in front of them. At least not until He hands them some bread in a way that clearly echoes the last time that they ate with Him on Thursday night. Suddenly, they get it. And just as suddenly, He’s gone. But once they recognize who it is they’ve been talking to, the first thing they do is marvel at the Scriptures and how He had explained what they truly meant.
Luke 24:32 says, “They asked each other, “Were not our hearts burning within us while he talked with us on the road and opened the Scriptures to us?”
The more we understand God’s Word the more our hearts will burn for God.
If you want to sense God’s presence, if you want to know Jesus is alive, then dive into God’s Word! At those times when you can’t feel Jesus, read your Bible. When you can’t see Jesus, look to the Scriptures, because he’s right there in front of you. Just ask Cleopas.