A Case Of Mistaken Identity
Luke 24:13-18 Amplified Bible (AMP)
13And behold, that very day two of [the disciples] were going to a village called Emmaus, [which is] about seven miles from Jerusalem. 14And they were talking with each other about all these things that had occurred. 15And while they were conversing and discussing together, Jesus Himself caught up with them and was already accompanying them.16But their eyes were held, so that they did not recognize Him.17And He said to them, What is this discussion that you are exchanging (throwing back and forth) between yourselves as you walk along? And they stood still, looking sad and downcast.18Then one of them, named Cleopas, answered Him, Do you alone dwell as a stranger in Jerusalem and not know the things that have occurred there in these days?
A while ago a woman walked up to me in a store to say hello, as she began to speak to me, I was confused and tried not to show it, but she was speaking to me as if she knew me, and I had no clue who she was. In the conversation she finally said “aren’t you such and such and didn’t we meet at such and such place?” I politely smiled and said I was sorry and no I was not. She looked so embarrassed, and she apologized; I responded with reassurance that it was okay, and I had done the same before as well. We both smiled and went on our way. Isn’t it funny how we can think we know someone and it isn’t them at all? Isn’t it strange how we can have an event or encounter in our lives and we can attach that memory and behavior to someone else and think that it is them, when it is far from them, not even close. It is amazing, how we can be right in front of people and not recognize them, or how we can think we recognize or know someone who we do not?
We don’t just do this with people we do this with God. We mistake His identity and how He is moving because it doesn’t come the way we ask for it. Or we assume we are being punished because it comes in a form that is unpredictable, or not thought of or comprehended. We have a tendency to place our limitations and our damaged vision and perception on how God moves and how He uses people. We can be walking along side of God and not even recognize Him when He is present. We could have carried on a conversation with Him, about what we need or desire and when He shows up, because it doesn’t look like what we think it should, or because of our past issues, encounters and events we think it is something or someone else showing up. My Grandmother used to say, He may not come when you want Him, but He is right on time, but so many times, we are looking one way or thinking with such suspicion and skewed vision we don’t recognize Him, and we become angry or think someone is doing something that is out of character or wrong when all the while God is orchestrating something for us.
I laugh at the amount of times in my life that I have gotten mad with God or people because I couldn’t see anything but how I felt in that moment or what I wanted. I did not see that God was working something out for me, and trying to work things out of me. There have been times that I have watched as people have given credit for something to the enemy or to people when it has been God and done the reverse saying it was God when it was a set up from the enemy. My husband and I talked over breakfast this morning and He told me a story about someone in his life that had proclaimed their relationship as a covenant relationship, a relationship ordained of God, but treated it as if it was birth in hades and with recklessness and manipulation. We have to learn to see with the eyes of the spirit, not with our emotions, our baggage or feelings; we have to understand the ways of God and those He uses to Bless us, come along side of us and those who labor among us. We have to learn that the way God thinks and operates is usually far from how we think and operate and His timing certainly is not ours. If we don’t we will continue to mistake what is God and what is the enemy. We will continue to lean to our own understanding and miss the revelations and moves of God on our behalf. We will continue to miss what we should know, and think, and assess what we shouldn’t. Don’t get caught in a case of mistaken identity, before you react, read into assess or think ask for some identification first!
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