“He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead, just as He said would happen.” (Matthew 28:6a NLT)
We hope for a lot of things, don’t we? We hope it doesn’t rain on our picnic. We hope our children don’t get sick or we don’t get stuck in traffic. But you know what? That’s little more than wishful thinking.
Robert C. Crosby wrote: “Life is full of dyings of all sorts and of new awakenings, of chapters closing and new ones opening. There is almost a rhythm to the process. Dark Fridays and bright Sundays. Shattered dreams and hopes fulfilled. Things dying and others coming to life.”
While in that maddening period between when my wife announced she was leaving and the court appearance when the final nail would be pounded into the coffin of our once vibrant marriage, my wife called and asked if we could meet for lunch.
Over lunch she explained that the relationship between her and the man for whom she left me was now over. My heart was thrilled, so I asked: “Does that mean there’s a chance we can still work things out?” To which she responded rather matter-of-factly: “No! What gave you that idea?” Hope anticipated became hope shattered in a heartbeat. For what are you hoping on this Resurrection Sunday?
Hope, at its core, is a Person. Jesus is the Hope, the only Hope of this fallen world, but He’s so much more. To know Jesus is to live with confidence that whatever life throws at us, we have someone strong and capable to help us deal with it. He loves us so much He gave His life to prove it and He overcame death and the grave through the power of the same Holy Spirit who empowers us to live boldly and triumphantly from day to day.
My divorce crippled me on many levels for a while. It took time to heal and to learn to risk loving someone again. Each of us, if we’ve lived any length of time, has been hurt, disappointed, crushed by the circumstances of life.
Though this is a joy-filled day for those of us who know, love, and are following the risen King, some reading these words, and millions across our broken world, are dying inside, praying for a resurrection of new life. Why is Jesus’ triumph over darkness and the grave so important for you to grasp? Because the hope He gives is not only for a new life here on earth, but a new, joy-filled eternity with Him in heaven.
There’s at least one thing I know about you, even if we’ve never met. What’s that, you may wonder? I know with certainty that what has you bound can and one day will be a distant memory if you’ll place your faith and trust in the only One who has power to release you.
While our hope in Jesus can, and for many of us does, satisfy our every need in this life, there are still things that we will carry with us to the grave. Heartache, pain, physical, emotional, mental, financial, and relational issues with which we’ve wrestled for years. Though we’ve begged God to heal and/or remove them, they persist. Why?
Because our final triumph as believers will never be fully realized until we see Jesus face to face. Then we’ll lie prostrate at His feet in worship and honor and thanksgiving. Why? Because in that moment we’ll be perfect in every way and, for the very first time we’ll realize our Risen Lord is the reason we’ll never have to deal with any of those issues again for all eternity.
HALLELUJAH! WHAT A SAVIOR!
Blessings, Ed 😊
Walking With Jesus 