Missing the Obvious - Martin Wiles

Suddenly, their eyes were opened, and they recognized him. And at that moment he disappeared! Luke 24:31 NLT

Two weeks of suffering didn’t make the obvious any more … obvious.

The teacher in the room next to me and I—along with our students—sweltered in our rooms. Although the outside temperature was only in the seventies, our rooms boiled. My turning down the two hallway thermostats didn’t help. The heat frazzled our nerves and made it difficult for the students to pay attention. A quick email to our maintenance man led to an investigation.

Two weeks prior—the time our rooms began warming up—he had called the air conditioning company to have them check our systems. Unbeknownst to him, they had forgotten to turn the main breaker switches back on. When he investigated the systems, he discovered their silence. A flip of the switch—the obvious fix—brought nice cool air to our rooms.

Sometimes, the obvious isn’t obvious. It wasn’t for two men on their way to the village of Emmaus. Jesus had risen from the dead and one day joined them as they walked. They didn’t recognize Him because God prevented them from doing so. 

When Jesus asked what they were talking about, they informed Him that He must be the only person in Jerusalem who didn’t know what had happened. Then, they explained to Jesus what He already knew about His own resurrection. Going home with them, Jesus broke bread, blessed it, and handed it to them. Suddenly, what wasn’t obvious became apparent.

Regardless of the matter—financial, emotional, spiritual, relational—God is the one who conceals and reveals. Gaining the information I need—or experiencing the healing I seek—requires effort and dependence. Jesus used the writings of Moses and the Prophets to reveal to the two men that what had happened to Him had been prophesied in Scripture.

God reveals through various sources: prayer, meditation, consultation with spiritually mature people, worship, and reading. When I go to the wrong sources, the obvious may remain concealed, but when I consult the right sources, God will unfold the information I need. He wants to meet our needs, He wants to guide us along the right paths, and He wants us to know His will in any given situation.

Don’t wander through life without purpose, missing what God wants to do in your life. Let God reveal what you can’t see.

Prayer: Father, give us the spiritual insight we need for every situation we face in life.

Tweetable: Are you missing what God is saying?

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