Do you ever lay awake at night, worrying about your job? Your bills? Your relationships? Your kids? Your health? Your past? Your future?
At the end of this worldly existence – whenever that hour comes – we can’t take any of it with us: not our possessions, our house, car, furniture, wardrobe; not our family, our pets, our loved ones. Not even the ever-present mantle of our earthly bodies will tag along into eternity. And the sum measure of all that time spent worrying over the temporary will fall away in an instant.
What, then, should we do with our limited time here on earth? For starters, we should stop worrying; instead, we must pray without ceasing and trust without fear that He is in control. To worry (and to do what usually follows, which is to try to “fix” those worrisome situations in accordance with our own will and plan) is akin to attempting to remove those things from God’s hands; it’s like pretending we know better, acting as though we can figure it out better, or that we can fix it better than our Lord can. We can’t! As believers, we know this and we have confessed this already – and we should not even try. And so, usually, worrying = trying to be in charge.
When you feel your worries pressing in; when you begin to feel fear or doubt that God is truly in control and working His perfect plan, consider the story of Easter. Consider, again and again as needed, His perfect timing. What would have seemed like three days too late to us – and what surely seemed to Jesus’ family and disciples as three days too late for God to “show up” and help His only son – was actually part of our Lord’s grand plan for our salvation. The people who were present the day of Jesus’ death could never have anticipated that plan; nor can we possibly predict what amazing works God has in store in each of His children’s lives.
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"He isn't here! He is risen from the dead, just as he said would happen. Come, see where his body was lying."
– Matthew 28:6
"But God raised Him from the dead, releasing Him from the agony of death, because it was impossible for Him to be held in its clutches."
– Acts 2:24
Easter represents the fulfillment of the work of the cross: Jesus was crucified, rose, and ascended into Heaven. A story so miraculous, so glorious, so filled with loving sacrifice, that we still talk about it 2,000 years later. Jesus Christ, the son of God, gave His life in payment for our sins.
How do we repay that kind of grace? How do we thank our heavenly Father for loving us enough to send His only son Jesus to be born among men, to be tortured and killed so that we might have eternal life?
Because of the cross, we have a future and a hope. But the work of the cross didn’t end when Jesus ascended into Heaven; for us, that is when our call to take up the mantle of Christ begins:
"He has made it clear to you, mortal man, what is good and what the LORD is requiring from you — to act with justice, to treasure the LORD's gracious love, and to walk humbly in the company of your God."
– Micah 6:8
Easter Sunday marks the culmination of Jesus’ journey to the cross and his victory over death. For believers, Easter provides an opportunity to renew our commitment to follow Him, to fulfill the requirements He has laid before us:
In light of Jesus’ death on the cross, all our petty worries — even our bigger troubles — fade away. Eternal perspective is a gift: how refreshing to set the nagging issues of our worldly lives aside and to simplify our to-do list. Act with justice, treasure His love, and walk humbly with God.
May God bless you and keep you on Easter and throughout the year. If we can pray for you, in petition or in grateful celebration of God’s blessings, please let us know.
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Jesus saves! Do you want to know more about accepting Jesus Christ as your Lord and Savior? Learn more here.
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Read the full account of the death and resurrection of Jesus in the following Gospel passages:
