Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
LUKE 24:18-21 | 18 Then one of them, whose name was Cleopas, answered him, “Are you the only stranger in Jerusalem who does not know the things that have taken place there in these days?” 19 He asked them, “What things?” They replied, “The things about Jesus of Nazareth, who was a prophet mighty in deed and word before God and all the people, 20 and how our chief priests and leaders handed him over to be condemned to death and crucified him. 21 But we had hoped that he was the one to redeem Israel. Yes, and besides all this, it is now the third day since these things took place.
Grief and loss alter our perceptions. Time seems to move at a different, often glacial pace. Memory casts up images of previous times with loved ones. Internal emotional struggles and the recent drama of loss compromise our perspective on current encounters. The two disciples don’t recognize the Resurrected Jesus, seeing Him as a stranger, and begin to explain to Him the events of His own demise! This is ironic and would be humorous, were it not for their underlying pain. With this unknown stranger, their grief pours out.
These two followers, and the ones they left in Jerusalem, had to face a deep and terrible loss, made worse by several things. These included the guilt and shame from abandoning their friend and leader, the gruesome and humiliating nature of His death, the unjustness of His fate, the danger for His followers, and the level of expectation they had developed for Jesus’ messianic victory. Each of these factors added to the stress of the moment.
What has been your greatest loss? What made it devastating?
Gracious God,
Keep our vision clear, even in the midst of the stress of loss. Help us understand the particular nature of our grief, and in understanding, lessen its stress.
Amen.
