The Lord has really risen!
Luke 24:34
This year I wanted my children to understand that Good Friday wasn't just a day off from school. I wanted them to somehow experience it differently this year and look at this weekend as more than just a 3 day weekend filled with egg hunts, baskets of goodies and playing with the cousins. No, I want my children to see Easter as a day to rejoice in our King! To understand the suffering Jesus went through for us and to feel God's presence and love all around them. As we sat down to discuss that dark day when Jesus was hung on the cross the topic of being Jesus' friend, on that day, came up. How hard it would be knowing how everyone felt about Him. How angry you would be watching your good friend be beaten, mocked, and ridiculed. How difficult to stand by and experience His horrible death on the cross and to have so many questions as to why it was all happening. We talked about Peter and how he denied that he even knew Jesus. The difficulty and the reality of that moment spoke to my son. He looked at me and said, "Mom I don't know what I would say"......... to be real honest, I wasn't sure what I would say either. But then it dawned on me. We are so privileged to know the end result! We can look on this day with sadness but immediately turn that sad to joy because we know what happened 2 days later! Peter did not know what was to come. Yes, the promise was there. Jesus would be the New Covenant, the Last Sacrifice. He would rise from this ugly day and be seated beside His Father in heaven. Jesus made this promise at the last supper and God had made this promise in the scriptures, but how hard is it to believe in something unseen? Peter, Mary, and John were onlookers to such an unimaginable sight without the full assurance that things would be better in the end.
Friends as we wait today in anticipation for our Risen Lord we can wait in peace! We don't have to sit in fear and worry wondering what was going to happen next. We know that Jesus' promise to rise from the grave was true. God followed through with His greatest promise! How could we ever think for a moment He wouldn't follow through with all of the other promises He made? Everything written in the scriptures is true and we can trust everything God does! (Psalm 33:4)
If things are not going well for you. If you are going through some tough times and your hope is fading. Use this day of waiting to renew your faith in our Sovereign God. You know the end result already! You do not have to wait in fear. You know that God follows through with what He promises. Search His Word for the promises directly related to your suffering and claim them for yourself. Don't wait with wringing hands and a nervous body. Don't question whether He is powerful enough to help you in your distress! He is God! He can do ALL THINGS! Believe in your promises because you have seen Jesus conquer death!
Dear God, we are so blessed to know the end result of that dark Friday. Thank You God for following through with the hardest thing imaginable so that we can wait today with expectance and without worry. We can wait on you with strong faith because we know your promises ring true in all circumstances and we trust in Your faithfulness. Thank you for Your son and thank You for loving us like you do. In Jesus' Name, Amen
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