Pause

Life is full of disappointments. There's enough sadness around for everyone to know the hardest times that humans can experience.

The way of faith doesn't deny suffering and struggle, it simply recognizes that difficult experiences are not the end of the story.

No, God's way of "doing business" is to redeem every situation, to lift us up, to teach us, to help us grow. No matter your circumstances today, these gifts are available to you now.

Listen

Then he came forward and touched the bier, and the bearers stood still. And he said, “Young man, I say to you, rise!” The dead man sat up and began to speak, and Jesus gave him to his mother.

Luke 7:14-15

Think

The Gospels are full of stories of anonymous people — no names, no ages, and no backgrounds. These stories are more about God than the characters they describe. Today’s passage is one of those stories. The mother and the son are important to be sure, but the main character — the point of emphasis and the place to which we are drawn — is Jesus.

We read this story and rejoice over the resurrection of an only son brought back to life to join his mother. But what happens if we look at this story with Jesus at the center? The key to Luke’s retelling of this amazing miracle is not the son coming back to life, but Jesus (through his compassion for this family) triumphing over death. Jesus knows the family’s pain, just as he knows ours. The touch of Jesus puts us back into the game. Jesus is more powerful than all the pains we experience; Jesus even conquers death.

What pains do you need to bring before Jesus, the healer?

Chris Cherry

Pray

Healing God, you have the power to conquer all fears and pains, even death. Help me have the courage to turn my suffering over to you. My life is not an anonymous story. My life is a part of your story. Heal me, my Renewer, and be with me. Amen.

Go

Resurrection is an every day kind of thing.
We celebrate it at Easter, each Sunday,
And, in fact, all the days in between.

Place no limitations on God's determination
To redeem your life, regardless of circumstance.
Live into the kind of faith that anticipates redemption.