What Now

(This message has a personal testimony as an illustration Feel free to use it or modify it to fit your congregation)

INTRODUCTION: A WALK THAT FELT EMPTY

There was a time in my life when it seemed that I really struggled, life wasn’t satisfying, and I couldn’t seem to shake off my doubts and fears and I was trying hard to find my way back to some joy and happiness in my life… I know now that all I really needed to do was find my way back to Jesus… I had been away from Him for a while… long enough to forget what His voice sounded like. I remember during that season of my life, I would go for some late evening jogs around the neighborhood near the fire station. No destination. Just me, the road, and the weight I was carrying. Some days I would run five or six miles, not because I was training for anything, but because I was just trying to outrun the silence… or maybe I was hoping that Jesus might just meet out there somewhere along the pavement.

So, when I read about these two disciples walking the road to Emmaus, I get it. The tomb is empty, but their hearts still feel heavy. They’re not walking in victory; they’re walking in confusion. They don’t even realize Jesus is alive yet. And they certainly don’t expect Him to show up beside them.

Let’s go to the story in Luke 24.

SCRIPTURE READING: LUKE 24:13-16, 28-32 (Paraphrase 17-27 & 33-35)

Two followers of Jesus, walking the seven miles between Jerusalem and Emmaus, are joined by a man they don’t recognize. He walks with them, talks with them, shares scripture with them and eventually, He breaks bread with them… and their eyes are opened and they realize that it was Jesus who had been with them all along. Then just like that, He disappears.

What can this moment teach us about faith ?

JESUS WALKS WITH US EVEN WHEN WE DON’T SEE HIM

These two weren’t praying. They weren’t searching for Him. They were just walking away from the place where everything had gone wrong. And that’s where Jesus meets them… not in a triumphant moment, Jesus met them in their confusion…In their sorrow… In their pain.

That’s grace, Jesus doesn’t wait until we’ve got it all figured out “He meets you on the road where you lost hope … not just the road you meant to travel.”… He doesn’t stand back with His arms crossed waiting for us to get it right. He steps in and walks with us when we’re tired, when we’re angry, when we’re heartbroken… when we feel like we have lost it all He’s right there, step by step, mile by mile, every step of the way.

When I was jogging through the neighborhood around the station, I didn’t know what I was looking for. But looking back, I believe Jesus was there… He didn’t speak in thunder. He was there with me in silence, reminding me that I wasn’t alone.

When you ask yourself, “What Now?” know this…Just because you don’t feel His presence, doesn’t mean He’s not there. Your walk might feel aimless … Jesus joins us even on those roads… Especially on those roads that we think lead to nowhere… and on those roads… He’s leading you somewhere

FAITH GROWS WHEN WE LET JESUS SPEAK INTO OUR STORY

“And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he explained to them what was said in all the Scriptures concerning himself.” (v.27)

Jesus doesn’t just comfort these two followers, He teaches them. He walks them through the story that they already know and shows them something they’d never seen before…Why? Because He wants their faith to be rooted in truth. He doesn’t want them to believe just because they saw Him…He wants them to understand why He came, and how the Scriptures had pointed to this all along.

When we ask ourselves, “What Now?” we need that ... We need to go back through the Word and let God help us see that what we thought was the end might actually be the middle of a greater story.

It’s like hearing a song you’ve known your whole life and then suddenly hearing the lyrics clearly for the first time… It hits different.

If you’re in a season of confusion, let the Word speak to you. Let Jesus walk you through it again and don’t just look for answers…listen for truth because truth is what brings clarity, and clarity helps faith take root.

FAITH TURNS US AROUND AND SENDS US BACK WITH PURPOSE

“They got up and returned at once to Jerusalem.” (v.33)

As soon as their eyes are opened and they realize it’s Jesus, they don’t sit around basking in the afterglow. They get up and head back to Jerusalem… Back to the mission… Back to the people they had just walked away from. That’s what real faith does, it changes our direction… It gives us purpose.