BURNING HEARTS

And he said to them, “What is this conversation that you are holding with each other as you walk?” And they stood still, looking sad. Luke 24:17

What did you see?

The Road to Emmaus Story in Luke 24 is a crazy story for so many reasons.  Jesus appears to Cleopas on the day he has resurrected, but God does not allow him and whomever he is with to recognize him.  He asks about the conversation they are holding as they talk together about all that has transpired.

Have you ever been in the middle of an unbelievable set of circumstances? Like you are almost in disbelief of what has happened, and you are literally in the middle of processing it all? They tell this man about what they are speaking with sadness because the revelation of the resurrection is still to come.  What it means that Jesus rose from death to life, how He overcame death and sin and the beginning of the “Church” is about to be birthed, is yet to be seen, revealed and understood.

How often does God allow a veil on our eyes until the revelation comes? It’s truly amazing when it does because then we feel like, how could we have not seen it or known, but there is an appointed time for such things that are beyond our understanding.

When Jesus took the bread and blessed it and broke it and gave it to them, their eyes were opened, and they knew it was Jesus, and then He vanished. WHAT?  But even before this revelation, they knew that there was something special about Him and their hearts burned, and they didn’t want Him to go on, so they invited Him to stay with them.

As crazy as all these sounds, this happens to us again and again. We see something, we read scripture, we hear a worship song, and our hearts burn. There is something we cannot shake, something we seek to know, understand, learn, and perceive. This burning is often just ignored or squeezed out by our own feelings, busyness or distractions. But we must pay attention to these burnings in our Spirit as they lead us to revelation or understanding. Not always quickly but eventually, as the Lord leads us.

We can burn with fire for God a fire that shows up in our Spirit, or we can burn for the lust of the flesh. Burning can lead us into sin or towards a deeper understanding of truth. It’s not hard to discern the difference because one leads us to our knees, utterly reliant on the Lord to give us wisdom, and the other leads us to gratify ourselves.

Burning often leads to a focus, a fixation, a longing, a deep desire, but we must be aware of the object of this attention. God wants all of our attention because He has so much to reveal to us. Keep your eye fixed on Jesus, and in time He will reveal more and more of this beautiful mystery of the gospel to you!

Lord, thank you for revealing the power of Your resurrection to the early church. I truly don’t understand why You did it the way You did, but I trust that it was necessary to fulfill Your plan of redemption for us. I trust You and thank you for it. Thank you, Lord, for Your powerful word that leads and speaks to me. Thank you for Your truth and sovereignty. Lord, forgive me for the times that I have been distracted and not followed the burning of my Spirit for revelation. Lord forgive me for the times I have given into the burning of my flesh and sinful gratification. Lord, You are so kind, faithful and redeeming, and You always give me a way out. Thank you for Your grace and kindness even when I miss the mark.