5 Day Devotionals
Journey to the Cross – Week 8
Day 1: When Hope Feels Lost
Scripture: Luke 24:13-21 “But we had hoped that he was the one who would redeem Israel.” (Luke 24:21)
Have you ever walked a road you never intended to travel? The two disciples on the road to Emmaus knew that feeling intimately. It was Resurrection Sunday, yet they were walking away from Jerusalem—away from hope, away from expectation, away from what they thought God was doing.
Their phrase “we had hoped” reveals everything. They hadn’t lost belief in God; they had lost confidence in how God works. They expected a political messiah, a conquering king like David. Instead, God brought redemption through a suffering servant—and they completely missed it. They wanted a crown without the cross, but that wasn’t God’s plan.
How often do we do the same? We think we know what we need, what the situation requires, and we start putting together our own puzzle pieces. But God gently says, “No, let me shape your puzzle.”
Your disappointment today might not be a crisis of faith—it might be a crisis of theology. You thought obedience guaranteed a certain outcome. You believed God would work a specific way. But Scripture never promises our preferred outcomes; it promises something much deeper: that God is working through redemption, not just results.
Reflect: What “we had hoped” statements are you carrying today? Where do your expectations of how God should work differ from how He actually is working?
Prayer: Lord, I confess the disappointments I’m carrying. I thought things would go differently. Help me see that my crisis isn’t about Your presence—it’s about my incomplete understanding of Your ways. Reshape my expectations around Your truth, not my preferences. Amen.
Day 2: The Stranger Who Draws Near
Scripture: Luke 24:15-16 “While they were talking and discussing together, Jesus himself drew near and went with them. But their eyes were kept from recognizing him.”
Here’s one of the most beautiful truths in this entire story: these disciples didn’t go looking for Jesus. Jesus went looking for them. In the midst of their problems, confusion, doubt, and disappointment—look who shows up.
They didn’t recognize Him, but His presence was intentional. And this reveals something profound about faith: faith isn’t always about seeing. “Faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen” (Hebrews 11:1).
If recognition only came through physical sight, their faith would remain shallow. It would be based on appearances rather than truth. God often veils Himself before He reveals Himself—not to hide permanently, but to deepen our dependence on who He is.
Think about the 400 years of silence between the Old and New Testaments. God was preparing His people for something they had never seen, something they couldn’t imagine. He was cultivating their utter dependence on the coming Messiah.
Even when you don’t feel God right now, even when you don’t recognize His presence, let this sink in: Jesus walks with you even when you don’t recognize Him. In your grief, your unanswered prayers, your confusion—God’s presence isn’t measured by your awareness of Him. It’s grounded in His unchanging character.
“The Lord your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you” (Deuteronomy 31:6). That’s not based on your feelings. That’s based on His faithfulness.
Reflect: Where do you need to trust God’s presence even when you can’t feel it? What circumstances are demanding you depend on His character rather than your awareness?
Prayer: Jesus, thank You that You pursue me even when I’m walking away. Thank You that Your presence doesn’t depend on my recognition. Open my eyes to see You walking beside me today, even in the disappointment. Amen.
Day 3: The Word That Rekindles Hope
Scripture: Luke 24:25-27 “And beginning with Moses and all the Prophets, he interpreted to them in all the Scriptures the things concerning himself.”
When Jesus encountered these downcast disciples, He didn’t start with miracles. He didn’t try to comfort them with kind words. He corrected them—with Scripture.
Starting with Moses and moving through the prophets, Jesus walked them through the entire Old Testament, showing how it all pointed to Him. This wasn’t a short conversation; this was comprehensive biblical teaching. He showed them what they had missed: yes, there were passages about a victorious Messiah-King, but they had completely ignored the suffering servant passages.
“Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter into his glory?” (Luke 24:26). They wanted the blessing parts, the victory parts, the comfortable parts. But partial theology creates spiritual malnourishment. It’s like a diabetic building their entire health plan around desserts—it’s not going to sustain you.
Jesus preached the very first post-resurrection Gospel sermon—about Himself. He walked them from Genesis 3:15 (the offspring who would crush the serpent’s head) through Deuteronomy 18 (the prophet to come), Isaiah 7:14 (the virgin birth), Isaiah 9:6 (the child who is Mighty God), Isaiah 53 (the suffering servant), and Psalm 16 (the resurrection).
He took them from despair to hope through the lens of Scripture—specifically, through the lens of the cross and resurrection.
Your answer when you feel cold, confused, or upset isn’t more emotion. It’s more truth. Get back into the Word. Let God reframe your story. Let truth interpret your circumstances, not the other way around.
Reflect: Are you building your faith on partial theology—only the parts you like? What difficult biblical truths have you been avoiding?
Prayer: Lord, give me a hunger for Your whole Word, not just the comfortable parts. Reframe my story through the truth of Scripture. Let Your Word kindle hope in my heart again. Amen.
Day 4: Hearts Set on Fire
Scripture: Luke 24:28-32 “They said to each other, ‘Did not our hearts burn within us while he talked to us on the road, while he opened to us the Scriptures?'”
Before their eyes were opened, before they could physically see who Jesus was, their hearts were awakened. Something powerful happens when we open God’s Word—Jesus is revealed, truth is understood, and something deeper ignites inside us.
Their hearts burned. It’s like kindling catching fire—slow at first, then suddenly blazing. When Scripture connects with our spirits, passion follows. But here’s the key: if your heart feels cold, it may not be a feeling problem—it may be a focus problem.
When you fix your eyes and attention on Christ, passion follows. Scripture tells us to “fix our eyes on Jesus, the author and perfecter of our faith” (Hebrews 12:2). These disciples were distracted, hopeless, confused. They needed to hear the story one more time. They needed to let it change them, to let it light a fire in their hearts.
Can you see who walks with you? Can you hear who speaks your name? Can you feel something stirring in your heart as His words ring strong and true?
You don’t necessarily need more information about Jesus. What you need is to encounter Jesus—through prayer, through communion, through worship, through surrender, through His Word. There’s a reason you’re reading this: so that you can encounter the risen Christ and help others do the same.
Reflect: When was the last time God’s Word set your heart on fire? What needs to change in your routine to create space for genuine encounter with Jesus?
Prayer: Jesus, I don’t just want to know about You—I want to know You. Set my heart ablaze again. Meet me in prayer, in Your Word, in worship. Let me encounter You in ways that transform me from the inside out. Amen.
Day 5: The Journey Back
Scripture: Luke 24:33-35 “And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them gathered together, saying, ‘The Lord has risen indeed!'”
Notice the direction change. The journey away from Jerusalem was marked by despair. The journey back to Jerusalem—seven miles, that very hour—was marked by joy, urgency, and good news that couldn’t be contained.
When Jesus broke the bread, their eyes were opened, and they recognized Him. Then He vanished. And immediately, everything changed. They couldn’t keep this to themselves. They had to tell everyone.
Here’s the question for us: when something good happens, do you keep it to yourself? No. You call people, you post it, you share it everywhere. So why do we keep the story of Jesus to ourselves? Sharing your faith is what we should be about. We should want to tell everyone andnot stay quiet about it.
“And they rose that same hour and returned to Jerusalem. And they found the eleven and those who were with them… and they said, ‘The Lord has risen indeed!'” That’s the message. We have life. We have hope. We have a reason to be here because Jesus is alive. We don’t serve a dead Savior. We serve a resurrected Savior who is at work in this world today.
The turning point in the story that most people miss is in verse 29: “They urged him strongly, saying, ‘Stay with us.'” Do you want more of Jesus? Then stay with Him. Stop walking away. Stop saying, “I’m going to live my own life. I’m going to do my own thing.” Stay with Jesus.
It takes an invitation. Maybe you need to invite someone to your table and share the story. Tell them: He’s alive. It’s real. Faith is being sure of what we hope for and certain of what we do not see. I am certain that Jesus is alive and that He lives in my life, that He works in my life, and He gives me hope.
When you accept Jesus, something miraculous happens. Acts 2:38 says, “Repent and be baptized, every one of you… you will receive the forgiveness of sins and the gift of the Holy Spirit.” Jesus is not just with you—the Spirit is in you, giving you power to live life to its fullest.
Reflect: What road are you on? Are you walking away from Jerusalem like the disciples, or are you running back with good news? Who needs to hear your story of encountering the risen Jesus?
Prayer: Lord, You have given me a living hope through Your resurrection. I don’t want to keep this to myself. Give me courage to share what You’ve done in my life. Help me invite others to encounter You at the table, in Your Word, and in relationship. Let my life be marked by the joy of knowing You are alive. Amen.