Day 35 - Issue 22
Luke 24:31 NLT
Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared!
God is present continuously. God’s promise is never to fail nor forsake me. In other words, God is forever alongside me. Yet, for large portions of time, I can be completely unaware of God’s close proximity. How can I become more aware, more of the time?
When my buttons are pushed, I can and do react. Often those closest to me push those buttons with the greatest regularity, and I have to develop a strategy to manage instinctive reaction. All that this reaction tells me is that I am living with me at the centre of my world. And it’s God who I have invited to live in that space. This is the real work of discipleship; developing an immediacy in my friendship with God. I can discover seeing the world through my lens or finding how to view it through God’s.
This, like the disciples on the road to Emmaus, is the product of a journey, yet a journey that may not mean travelling too far geographically. It is the journey that leads me towards God’s heart. It is in the familiar setting of a meal that the disciples recognise Christ. As he breaks bread, they realise this is Jesus. How had they missed him when he’s been their companion not only on this most recent journey, but throughout his earthly ministry? It’s because they became absorbed with the details of their own experience in life with their own analysis of reality. God invites each of us to encounter God in God’s reality that can require a stretch beyond our own.
QUESTION: How do you react and respond when your hot buttons are pushed? Can you reach out and discover the presence of God in those moments?
PRAYER: Lord Jesus, open my eyes to see your presence in my life.
