GOD IS IN THIS PLACE

Reading about the two disciples meeting Jesus on their way to Emmaus the other night, I suddenly wondered exactly who these two disciples were...the one is named Cleopas, but we are not told the name of the other.

So I grabbed my Strong's concordance and looked up this name - Cleopas - and found that his name was also translated 'Alpheus' and that he was, in fact, the husband of the sister of the mother of Jesus, and the father of one of the twelve disciples, James, who followed Jesus throughout His ministry.

And then I read the passage about their meeting with Jesus more carefully remembering what happened before, and all the disciples experienced during such a short period of time, starting with the last supper, where Jesus foretold his imminent death and all that would follow, through to the garden of Gethzemane, the betrayal, the arrest, and the crucifixion, and I found that James, the son of Alpheus, was probably one of the three disciples whom Jesus took further into the garden than the others when He was praying in the garden before his betrayal. One of the three that could not stay awake...Why could they not stay awake and pray with their friend in His time of desperate need? Personally, I think that they were too overcome by sorrow and grief. Surely they had shed  many, many tears during the last supper and when Jesus washed their feet. They must have been emotionally exhausted and heavy eyed, apart from the fact that it was then late at night.

And the only two disciples who ran to the grave after the women told them that Jesus had indeed risen from the dead, was Peter and John. We are told that James's mother, Mary, was also amongst those women.

So I think we may assume that on that day, the day of the resurrection, when these two disciples were walking to Emmaus, they had not yet seen the risen Lord for themselves. As we know that the one was Cleopas and  his wife, Mary, who was at the grave when the angel appeared to the women, perhaps we may assume that she had by that time told them the good news, but they obviously did not believe it, otherwise the news the women brought would not have upset them!

So if we know that the one was the father of James, perhaps the other one was James?

Anyway, during their walk towards their home at Emmaus they are still suffering from the shock of seeing their Lord and Master, whom they had followed for three years and whom they believed was the Messias and whom they trusted to lead them to freedom, having been crucified and killed. The heartache and disappointment must have been very great indeed. We all know what it's like to lose a beloved to death... One is very emotional and weepy and upset and sad and depressed and, and, and... Now a "stranger in Jerusalem" appears to them seeming to know nothing about what had been happening at all...and he asks them:

                 "...What manner of communications are these that ye
                  have one to another, as ye walk, and are sad?" Luke 24: 17

The are still very sad, upset, bewildered, confused, and they tell him the whole story and confirm their emotional state by saying:

                   "Yea, and certain women also of our company made us astonished, which
                    were early at the sepulchre; and when they found not his body, they came,
                    saying, that they had also seen a vision of angels, which said that he was
                    alive." Luke 24: 22,23

And this stranger is invited into their home and sits to eat with them and only when He takes the bread and breaks it and gives it to them - just as they had seen Him doing just three days ago at the last supper - they recognise Him and He disappears from their sight.

Sometimes we are in circumstances where we are sorrowful, full of emotional pain, grieving a loss, and we don't recognise our Saviour even though He is there walking and talking with us. And just like the disciples walking to Emmaus, we think that our Saviour is a "stranger in Jerusalem" and  knows nothing about our experiences and our circumstances, our problems, and our emotional state.

Sometimes as with the disciples whom Jesus "made get into the boat and go before Him to the other side", as related in Matt. 14:22-33, we find ourselves in a position that we are sure God has ordered us into only then to find ourselves in the midst of a storm, as the disciples did, and we are so scared, maybe even fearing for our livelyhood or our lives, that we cannot recognize Him when He comes walking towards us amidst the tossing waves and the howling wind.

At times, as with Peter, when he was released from jail as is recorded in Acts 12: 1 - 17 we are so caught up in a personal "prison" of circumstances, that we do not even realise that the circumstances have passed, that the prison door has been opened, and we may be suffering unnecessary emotional strain and nervous tension not realising, not being able to see that God has already sent the provision or the release that was needed and we cannot even believe that ourt continual, fervent prayers have been answered.

Or maybe as with Jacob, when he was fleeing from his brother Esau, after having robbed him of his birth right as the firstborn, and having robbed him of the blessing that was rightfully his as the firstborn, as we read in  Genesis 28, we are so haunted by our guilt and the knowledge of the wrongs we have done, and mistakes that we have made, of harm that we have inflicted, or shame that we have caused, that we fail to notice that God has given us "a ladder" to heaven - His only Son who died - so that we may have our sins forgiven. When Jacob awoke he had to say: "Truly God is in this place and I did not know it."

Whatever it is that is perhaps causing you to not be able to experience the fullness of the presence of Almighty God in your life today - whether is be bereavement, sorrow, pain, fear, oppression, guilt, persecution, circumstances beyond your control, whatever - please don't wait until it is necessary for the Lord to say to you as He said to the two disciples walking to Emmaus:

                 "...O fools, and slow of heart to believe all that the prophets have spoken..."
                  Luke 24: 25

"O fools, and slow of heart" that we cannot see and recognise that He is in this place - in our circumstances; that we cannot hand our circumstances over to Him to take care of...

God is in this place - in case you don't know it... Bring it to Him now...reach out your hand. Say : "Lord, if it is You, command me to come to You ON the waters."

Thank You, Lord, that You are always present in whatever circumstances. That You are ready and willing to reach out Your hand and to help us to walk on the waters of our circumstances... Help us to have faith to reach out to You in Jesus' name.