Emotional Chaos

Chris up in the standing frame

 I found myself reading through Luke 24 yesterday. There is a lot to unpack in this chapter, but I'm focusing primarily on verses36 to 49. Jesus suddenly appears when the two men from Emmaus are describing their encounter with Him to the others. Jesus immediately called for peace - Peace be with you. (NLT v. 36) The next verse says they were terrible frightened - which seems to be a LOT more than just skeered, if you ask me. They actually thought they were seeing a ghost at that point. Jesus even asked them why they were so scared. (v.38) 

Even after He held out his hands for them to see, they were doubting, filled with joy and wonder. Can you imagine their emotional chaos? They had trusted Him so much they left their careers and families and followed Him for 3 years. The disciples thought all along that Jesus was going to set up a natural kingdom that would last forever. They kept expecting Him to dethrone the government and take it by force. In some ways, they missed the whole thing. But at this point they had to be emotionally rung out.

They left everything and followed Him and chronicled His many miracles. Then they watched the One they thought was bringing the kingdom to earth - be crucified. They saw Him die and be laid in the tomb. And now, here He is standing right in front of them. Talk about confusing, baffling, not having an ounce of understanding as to what is really going on... they were in shock and disbelief.

But what I loved about this passage is that Jesus didn't condemn them for doubting. He didn't mention that they didn't "get it." In fact, verse 45 says that He opened their minds to understand the scriptures about Him. He didn't throw them away. And He certainly didn't throw up his hands and walk away in disgust. He gently led them to the truth - even though He was very aware that they were terribly frightened, doubting, and filled with joy and wonder.  I love that picture of patience.

Jesus met them where they were right there in the middle of the trauma, the pain, and the emotional chaos. He in essence said, Here I am. He didn't keep anything from them. Jesus didn't think about if they could handle it or not - He just gave them the revelation they needed so they could see Him.

Today, I'll remind myself that God doesn't exclude me because my life is lived in an environment that is the result of trauma. He gets my emotional chaos and it doesn't scare Him away. In fact, it is in those moments that I experience the most chaos that He moves in just a little closer and shows me another piece of who He is. I'll make that my meditation for the day as I trust Him for one more day. Will you join me?



Cover of Peace Out - it's in the Bible devotional

Today is a good day to peace out! Check out my 31-day devotional on Kindle or in Print!

You can also get the eBook in my shop at BuyMeACoffee!


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