Who Feels Discouraged

Then their eyes were opened and they recognized him.

MY FRIEND, SCRIPTURE IS FULL OF PEOPLE just like us—men and women who lived through the hard and heavy, the terrible and trying. They experienced great joy in the presence of Jesus and deep discouragement when they didn’t understand where He was or what He was doing.

No wonder, then, that the words of the women who had witnessed Jesus’s empty tomb seemed like “idle tales” (Luke 24:11, NKJV) to the ears of the apostles. Mary Magdalene, Joanna, Mary, the mother of James, and others had returned from the empty tomb, declaring that Jesus had risen from the dead. But the disciples wondered how that could possibly be true.

Two followers of Jesus who heard this news set out on a journey toward Emmaus, about seven miles from where the disciples were gathered. As they walked, “they talked together of all these things which had happened” (Luke 24:14, NKJV). But another joined them on their journey.

Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.

And He said to them, “What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”

Then the one whose name was Cleopas answered and said to Him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem, and have You not known the things which happened there in these days?

He said to them, “What things?”

So they said to Him, “The things concerning Jesus of Nazareth, who was a Prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, and how the chief priests and our rulers delivered Him to be condemned to death, and crucified Him. But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.

They continued to walk together, and for the remainder of the seven-mile journey Jesus clearly explained the fulfillment of Scriptures concerning Himself. The two travelers invited Jesus to come in and share a meal with them, but it wasn’t until He took bread, blessed it, broke it, and offered it to them that they recognized Him.

Jesus was more than just a tale. His resurrection was real. And they had encountered the risen Lord.

Maybe you feel as confused as these two did on their journey from Jerusalem. Maybe you’re in a season where hope itself feels like an idle tale. Maybe you’ve tried your hardest and done as much as you can, but you wonder how much longer you can believe for better days ahead.

Tonight I’d like to remind you that the Lord is walking with you. Perhaps the stress of your situation has blinded you to even a hint of His close love, but He has been with you all along. It’s not hopeless. The stories you have heard of others encountering His love aren’t just tall tales. He is with you even now. We are praying that the Lord opens the eyes of your heart to see that He is near to you in this moment.

Tonight we pray for the momma who feels discouraged. Lord, she has done her best to remain hopeful for the last few months. She has been a rock for her family. She has carried the mental load, making decisions and working out details in so many areas of life. But, tonight, she has run out—it may be that she has run out of patience or hope or joy or strength. Lord, we ask that You breathe new life into her bones. We ask for color to return to the gray areas of her heart. We ask for fresh strength to spring up like flowers from winter soil. We ask for hope. Bless her tonight.

We ask in Jesus’s name, amen.

Jesus, please walk alongside me and reveal the ways You care about these things I’m facing: