Daily Devotional
An Empty Pie Shell and the Runaway Boy
“‘When they did not find His body, they came saying that they had also seen a vision of angels who said He was alive. And certain of those who were with us went to the tomb and found it just as the women had said; but Him they did not see.’ Then He said to them, ‘O foolish ones, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Ought not the Christ to have suffered these things and to enter into His glory?’”
Luke 24:23-26
April 21, 2025
Ponder This
Once, when I was a little boy, I came into the kitchen and my mother was baking a pie. So I stood and waited until she took the pie shell out. I had never been as disappointed and angry in my life. I looked and there was no pie in the shell. I thought either my mother was extremely mean, or she had gone out of her mind. I literally ran away from home. I can remember that I went a whole half-block murmuring to myself. When I returned, I learned the rest of the story: She was not finished with what she was doing.
The disciples in today’s passage were very much like that. The work was only half done, and their sadness was rooted in misunderstanding and unbelief. Now they believed part of what the prophets had spoken, but they did not believe or understand it all. They had the discouragement of confused hearts. When we don’t understand the Word of God, that can lead to discouragement. I have met many Christians who get discouraged because they don’t understand the Scriptures. They miss the fulfillment of Jesus because He doesn’t work in the way we would expect.
- When was a time God worked differently than you expected?
- What are the areas where you struggle to believe? How do you deal with that?
Practice This
Talk to a trusted Christian friend about the parts of Scripture you have a tough time believing. Ask your friend to pray for you.
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