With us, with Him.
Enjoying God: Part 1 (3)
You will show me the path of life;
In Your presence is fullness of joy;
At Your right hand are pleasures forevermore. Psalm 16.11
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him. Luke 24.13-16
How could they have missed it?
This is the question many ask about the disciples on the road to Emmaus: How could they have failed to recognize Jesus? The answer is in our text: “their eyes were restrained”. Their eyes would be opened later so that they knew Him (v. 31), and since both these conditions are phrased in the passive voice, we assume that God was doing the restraining and the opening of their eyes.
And that is certainly true. But as in all situations in our lives, God is sovereign, sustaining, guiding, strengthening, and using His people according to His good and perfect will. Be we also have a role to play in looking to the Lord, following the guidance of His Word and Spirit, drawing on His strength by faith and obedience, and being willing for Him to use us. He is at work within us for His pleasure, but we have a role as well (Phil. 2.12, 13).
So, while God was sovereignly ruling the eyes of those two disciples, did they have a role in their inability to see Jesus? I believe they did. From the words of other disciples, it seems clear that none of those who had become followers of Jesus Christ expected Him to rise from the dead. Not Mary Magdalene (Jn. 2.0.1, 2, 13). Neither Peter nor John (John “believed” but not that Jesus had been raised, Jn. 20.9). Not Thomas (Jn. 20.24, 25). None of those who believed in Jesus and were His followers believed that He had risen from the dead. Why not?
They were predisposed against such a thing. Even though they had seen Jesus raise others from the dead, they had never seen anyone raise themselves from the dead. Nothing in their experience told them this was possible. And they did not understand either the Scriptures or the teaching of Jesus on this matter.
The disciples on the Emmaus Road did not recognize Jesus because they were predisposed against the idea that they could know His Presence with them again.
But that all changed when Jesus opened their eyes.
With us always
Jesus has promised to be with us always. And we know that the Presence of God the Son continues with us daily, both in the Person of the Holy Spirit and in the Word of the Lord. He is with us where we are. Every moment. Every day. Every activity.
And, as if that weren’t enough, we are with Him where He is! Seated with Christ in heavenly places (Eph. 2.6). There is not a moment when we are not in the Presence of the Lord Jesus, the Holy Spirit, and God the Father.
So, why don’t we experience that Presence, and the joy that attends it, any more than we do?
Because we are predisposed against it. Like the disciples, we believe in Jesus and are His followers. But so rare is our experience of His Presence, so uncommon is it for us to be filled with the Spirit or to know ourselves seated in the Presence of God the Father, that we do not consider that such a blessing should be normal in our experience. We fail to know the joy of the Lord and to enjoy Him above all else because of our unbelief.
We read David saying, “I have set the LORD always before me” (Ps. 16.8) and Paul instructing us to set our minds on the things that are above, where Christ is seated in heavenly places (Col. 3.1-3). But, like the disciples didn’t believe in the resurrection of Jesus, even though He had told them many times, we don’t believe that we can enter the Presence of God in such a way as to be filled with joy and know unspeakable holy pleasures.
Even though the Scriptures declare plainly that this is so.
Daily we should seek the Lord in prayer, crying, “I believe! Help my unbelief!”
Warmed and emboldened
What happens when we realize we are or have just been in the Presence of Jesus? Surely something like what those two disciples experienced: Fullness of joy and eternal pleasures: “Then their eyes were opened and they knew Him; and He vanished from their sight. And they said to one another, ‘Did not our heart burn within us while He talked with us on the road, and while He opened the Scriptures to us?’”
When those disciples realized that Jesus had been with them, as He had promised He always would be (Matt. 28.10), their hearts burned with such joy and excitement that, even though they had walked many miles to reach their destination, “they rose up that very hour and returned to Jerusalem, and found the eleven and those who were with them” and shared the joy of Jesus’ resurrection and Presence with them all.
If we believed in the Presence of God, we would seek Him more earnestly. If we sought Him—sought Him earnestly, patiently, and persistently with all our heart—we would know His Presence more continually and enjoy Him more fully (Jer. 29.13). And if we knew His Presence—with us, and us seated with Him—we would know more of His joy and be more emboldened to serve and proclaim Him as we ought.
“Seek the LORD while He may be found, call upon Him while He is near” (Is. 55.6). This is our daily challenge and privilege.
Search the Scriptures
1. Read Psalm 27.7-9. How would you counsel a new believer to practice what this text teaches?
2. How is it that we can believe in Jesus and be His followers yet not believe that knowing His Presence should be more a part of our life in Him?
3. Read John 5.39. How should knowing this affect our Bible reading and study? How can this help us in knowing more of the Presence of the Lord?
Next steps—Transformation: What changes do you need to make so that you will know the Lord’s Presence more consistently? Begin making these changes today.
T. M. Moore
If you have found this meditation helpful, take a moment and give thanks to God. Then share what you learned with a friend. This is how the grace of God spreads (2 Cor. 4.15).
How should joy affect our lives as Christians? Our booklet, Joy to Your World!, can show you how both to know more of the Lord’s joy and to invite others into it as well. Order your copy by clicking here.
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Except as indicated, all Scriptures are taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
