By Martha Sykes

Luke records the story of two of Jesus’s followers walking down the road from Jerusalem to Emmaus. They were talking about how their Savior had been crucified and now His body was missing from the tomb.

In chapter 24, verse 13, it tells us that “As they discussed these things with each other, Jesus himself came up and walked with them but they were kept from recognizing Him”.

Eventually they asked the stranger a lot of questions and He explained to them how by dying and rising again, Jesus had actually fulfilled the prophecies of the Messiah. The men were amazed and as they arrived home, they invited this stranger to have dinner with them. When He blessed and broke the bread, this is when they recognized Him as Jesus, the Messiah.

At that moment, He disappeared from their midst, and they were so excited and full of hope from the experience that they left right away to share their story with others.

You see, Jesus’s presence comforted them and helped those friends move from discouragement into a better understanding of God’s power just as His presence does for us.

A couple of weeks ago, we were fortunate enough to have vacation Bible school this year and we shared this particular story with the children. I shared how Jesus asked us to take a walk with him and have a heart to heart talk with him when we are upset or scared. After the story one little boy asked me, “Does Jesus really walk with us?” It was an opportunity to explain how Jesus does walk with us in times of trouble or doubt.

Just as these followers were discouraged about what had happened, the presence of Jesus made them feel better and gave them hope. Yes, Jesus does walk with us every day and we can have hope that God will move us beyond our troubles into better things to come!