My daily devotional with an encouraging thought for your day.
We're coming up on Easter Sunday. One of the most monumental and important days in Christian history. The day that Jesus rose from the dead, and ascended back into Heaven with the Father. It seems fitting that my devotional today was about God moving the stones in our lives as He did with the stone in front of Jesus' tomb.
Anyone who has gone to church at least once probably knows the story of the empty tomb. The women bought spices to anoint Jesus' body, but when they arrived at the tomb where He had been laid, the stone was rolled away and His body was missing. He had risen. Let's dive deeper into what scripture says.
Mark 16:1-14 says, "When the Sabbath was over, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices so that they might go to anoint Jesus' body. Very early on the first day of the week, just after sunrise, they were on their way to the tomb and they asked each other, "Who will roll the stone away from the entrance of the tomb?" But when they looked up, they saw that the stone, which was very large, had been rolled away. As they entered the tomb, they saw a young man dressed in a white robe sitting on the right side, and they were alarmed. "Don't be alarmed," he said. "You are looking for Jesus the Nazarene, who was crucified. He has risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid him. But go, tell his disciples and Peter, 'He is going ahead of you into Galilee. There you will see him, just as he told you.'" Trembling and bewildered, the women went out and fled from the tomb. They said nothing to anyone, because they were afraid. When Jesus rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had driven seven demons. She went and told those who had been with him and who were mourning and weeping. When they heard that Jesus was alive and that she had seen him, they did not believe it. Afterward Jesus appeared in a different form to two of them while they were walking in the country. These returned and reported it to the rest; but they did not believe them either. Later Jesus appeared to the Eleven as they were eating; he rebuked them for their lack of faith and their stubborn refusal to believe those who had seen him after he had risen".
What an amazing miracle from God, that He was able to raise Jesus from the dead. The ultimate defeat of death. The two women that brought spices to anoint Jesus' body, but when they saw the stone rolled away and saw the angel, they faced fear and anxiety.
When God places stones in our lives and then helps us remove them, do we face fear and anxiety? The big word you're thinking of right now is change. As humans, we usually hate change. We love our schedules and routine. We love the business of our lives. Think of yourself right now, during COVID-19 quarantines have you been restless? Are you filled with anxiety and fear or are you listening to the angel of the Lord that says, "Don't be alarmed"?
I've said it once and I'll say it again... the coronavirus was not a surprise to God. When the first person got sick, He wasn't surprised. When the first person died, He wasn't surprised. When the first person battled the virus and defeated it, He wasn't surprised. Nothing about the situation and world we are living in right now was a surprise to God. It didn't surprise God that you got laid off and are struggling. It didn't surprise God that the grocery store you work for had to stay open. It didn't surprise God that every state went into a massive lockdown and now we are all almost in a stay-in-place order.
God places stones and trials in our lives for a reason. He will remove the stone and trials in our lives in His timing and for His purpose and plan. As we come up on Easter Sunday, remember that God is always with you. He will move the stones in His timing. If He doesn't remove the stone or obstacle, He'll help you find a way around it. He doesn't give us more than we can handle.
Prayer of the day:
Abba, we love you. Thank you for the obstacles that you place in our lives. Thank you for helping us overcome the obstacles. You don't give us more than we can handle, and for that, we thank you. Thank you for being ever-present in our lives. You are worthy of our praise forever. I pray that you are with everyone that is going through struggles and is under stress. I pray that you bring your overwhelming peace into their lives. This virus wasn't a surprise to you. You have the whole world in your hands. You have this entire situation in your hands and under your control. You haven't failed us yet, and you won't start failing us now. Cover the earth with Your presence. Thank you for all that you do for us. We love you and will continue to praise you. Amen.
Comments