Daily devotion – Troubled hearts.
The Road to Emmaus (Luke 24:13–21, 25–27)
Luke 24:13
Now behold, two of them were traveling that same day to a village called Emmaus, which was seven miles from Jerusalem. And they talked together of all these things which had happened. So it was, while they conversed and reasoned, that Jesus Himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were restrained, so that they did not know Him.
Speaking to many last night at our prayer gathering, it was evident that so many among us are struggling with deep grief over the events at Bondi. As we now see images of funerals filling our news media—children weeping and laying over the caskets of their murdered fathers—our hearts are breaking. We are witnessing a nation imploding before our very eyes.
Scripture reminds us that we are not the first to walk through such sorrow.
After the crucifixion and burial of Jesus, His disciples were immersed in grief, confusion, and despair. Luke tells us the story of two of them leaving Jerusalem—heartbroken, disappointed, and now seemingly without hope. Their dreams had been shattered. Their expectations crushed.
Then, quietly and unexpectedly, a third person joined these two solemn travellers.
They did not know it was their resurrected Lord.
As Jesus walked with them, He asked,
“What kind of conversation is this that you have with one another as you walk and are sad?”
They poured out their grief and disappointment, saying,
“But we were hoping that it was He who was going to redeem Israel.”
Those words are heavy with loss: we were hoping.
So what did Jesus do to lift them out of their despair?
He gave them a Bible study—arguably the greatest Bible study ever taught.
Luke records:
“Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’ And beginning at Moses and all the Prophets, He expounded to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning Himself.”
Jesus did not dismiss their grief. He addressed it with truth.
He opened the Scriptures and revealed that God’s plan had never failed—not for a moment. The suffering, the cross, the tomb—all of it had been foretold. All of it was necessary. All of it was moving toward resurrection and glory.
Today, we too face a choice.
We can remain in our grief, paralysed by fear and uncertainty—or we can follow our Lord’s example and His invitation. We can open our Bibles and seek the comfort, wisdom, and wonder of God’s Word.
The Word of God strengthens weary hearts.
It brings clarity where there is confusion.
It cuts through the fog of fear and despair with eternal truth.
“Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds from the mouth of God.”
Do not remain walking aimlessly on a road that leads only to uncertainty and hopelessness. Open your Bible. Let the Lord speak. Let Him turn you around—just as He did those two disciples—and set your feet once again toward Jerusalem.
For a day is coming when Christ will sit and rule.
A world is coming where war and death will be no more.
A kingdom of peace, righteousness, and justice will be established forever.
May your heart burn once again with the wonder and power of God’s Word.
May hope rise where grief now lingers.
And may we recognise that even in our darkest moments—Jesus is walking with us, whether we see Him or not.
Remember to join us this Sunday evening for a night of Christmas praise and worship as we celebrate communion and rejoice in the birth of our Saviour Jesus Christ – “God with us!”