Road to Emmaus

Shortly before leaving the United States for this adventure I was deeply moved by the account in the Gospel of Luke of the two disciples walking from Jerusalem to Emmaus; a journey of about 7 miles. Along the way they were discussing the life and recent crucifixion of Jesus Christ when they were joined on their journey by the resurrected Christ. At first they did not recognize Him and even were kind of critical of Him for asking what they were talking about. The things that moved me most about this passage  were: 1) It must have been such an incredible experience to have had that time with Jesus Christ – even though at first they did not even recognize what a blessing they were receiving (but later reflected “did not our hearts burn within us” from the things that Jesus spoke to them); 2) I need to be like these disciples and take a long time (7 miles walking would be at least two hours) to just reflect on Jesus Christ; and 3) It is OK when I feel lost and if I don’t fully recognize all the blessings in my life at this time. The main point is that I am continually seeking God and in due time my eyes will be opened to see the truth.

I made it a priority that when I got to Phnom Penh one of the first things I would do (and perhaps do it more than once) is to take a long walk – praying and seeking God. I did that today (Saturday). Here are some of the things that happened along the walk.

1)      I had a difficult time settling into praying while walking

2)      I was easily distracted (especially early on in the walk). I noticed a lot of people, businesses, animals, etc.

3)      Once I started to pray I had expectations that God would really “speak to me” with a clear voice and at first He did not (or at least I didn’t hear Him)

4)      I got hot and tired of walking fairly quickly and wanted to turn around after only walking for 30 minutes

5)      After persevering on the walk it became easier to pray and to sense communion with God. I no longer was bothered by the tiredness, heat, and soreness that I was feeling earlier. I was not as much “praying” as I was hearing God speak to me through Scripture (perhaps a very real kind of prayer). A lot of what went through my mind and heart were the statements and promises made by Jesus Christ – some of the convicting and many of them comforting.

a.       Sell all your possessions and give to the poor

b.      Where I go, you cannot come

c.       Seeing you believe; blessed are those who do not see yet believe [but, oh, how we do see you Lord!]

d.      I will rise on the third day

e.      I will breathe the Holy Spirit upon you and you will be counseled and comforted

A part of my desire for doing this walk was to seek God’s guidance and direction for what I should be doing in Cambodia. I didn’t get anything specific – such as, apply for this job with World Vision or spend time with a certain person. What I have been receiving and continue to receive is that God is with me always and that I am to seek and glorify Him. I am really sensing that I am not here in Cambodia for any particular job, but rather for how God is going to use this time to deepen my love for Him. By the way, I did get lost on this walk. On the way back I decided to take a different route, which is one thing when on bike or moto and quite another thing when walking, but even though lost I did feel a deep comfort from God and even a relaxation in the purpose of the walk and just trusting that I would get home safely when I needed to.

I will also share with you some of the distractions that I noticed along the way. This “house” is a block away from where I live.

 

Yet, just within 3 miles there exists block after block of “businesses” like these. While walking (and you wouldn’t notice this driving or cycling) I noticed that there are clusters of types of businesses that are clumped together. For example, the first few blocks was all furniture stores, furniture fabrication sites, manufacturing businesses, and lumber yards. Then it transitioned to textiles – and for probably one mile the businesses were mostly thread, yarn, or fabric stores, sewing or sewing machine repair.

 

And there were a lot of places that were so run down. It made me wonder how many people really stop in at any of these stores on a typical day and how many sales do they make? I just don’t know how they can afford to stay in business.