One of the things that fascinates me about the Easter story is
the sudden change that took place in the disciples. One minute
they’re having a pity party, the next minute they’re taking on the
world! They went from crushed to confident in one day. What
happened that first Easter?
One of the things that fascinates me about the Easter story is the sudden change that took place in the disciples. One minute they’re having a pity party, the next minute they’re taking on the world! They went from crushed to confident in one day. What happened that first Easter?
Well, consider the condition of the disciples when Sunday rolled around: They were worn out. They had been through an incredibly rough week which had brought them little sleep and lots of stress. Sound like some of the weeks you have? Doctors tell us that the most common cause of discouragement is physical and emotional exhaustion. When we get tired, we lose the ability to function physically, emotionally and even spiritually. Add to that the feeling of failure the disciples were feeling. At the time of the Lord’s greatest crisis, all the disciples deserted Jesus. By Sunday morning they were all throwing pity parties for themselves and wondering how they could have ever thought Jesus was the Messiah in the first place. They had succumbed to the all too human tendency to get down on themselves, to label themselves as failures. Been there? Done that?
The fatigue and failure they were experiencing had exacted its toll on them; John 20:19 tells us that Sunday morning found them cowering behind locked doors. They had seen what happened to Jesus and were not particularly excited about their own prospects. “What if they kick in the door? What if they beat us? What if they nail us to a cross? What if, what if, what if?”
We’ve all played the “what if” game. Perhaps you know it by another name: fear. What do you fear the most? For most of us, it’s death. We don’t even want to talk about it. About the only people who are OK talking about death are kids. Here’s a few comments from kids that made me smile:
“A good doctor can help you so you won’t die, a bad doctor will send you to heaven” (Raymond, age 10).
“When you die you don’t have to do homework in heaven… unless your teacher is there also” (Marsha, age 9).
“When you die they put you in a box and bury you in the ground because you don’t look too good” (Gilda, age 8).
Death can be a tremendous fear generator, but Christ came to set us free from that fear (Hebrews 2:15), and one of the great lessons of Easter is that Jesus’ resurrection broke the bonds of death. We need to realize that if God has the power to raise Jesus from the dead, he certainly has the power to handle the puny problems you and I have.
I realize you may be thinking, “But you don’t know how bad my problems are!” and you’re right, I don’t. But I do know God has the power to turn around whatever problems you have, even the ones you have given up on.
How can I apply Christ’s mighty power to my life? There is no short and simple answer to that, but the place it all starts is with some spiritual ABC’s: First, I must Acknowledge that I am hopelessly mired in sin and unable to make things right on my own; second, I must Believe that Christ has risen from the dead and has the power to save me, and third, I must Commit my entire being (heart, mind and soul) to the Lord and agree to do things his way instead of mine.
Put your faith in Christ and don’t look back. God says, “Don’t dwell on what happened long ago. Watch the new thing I’m going to do in your life!” (Isaiah 43:18-19). And please hear me on this: It’s never too late to start over! Failure is never final unless you let it be. God is not nearly as interested in where you’ve been as He is in where you are going! All of us have skeletons in the closet; all of us can say, “I wish” and “what if.” Dwelling on those questions is a waste of time. Focus on your future. God specializes in new beginnings. That’s what Easter is all about: starting over! God wants to do something fresh in your life; let him!
