Last week I woke up in the middle of the night with Jesus’ words to the women who came to His tomb after the crucifixion.
On the first day of the week at early dawn, the women went to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared to finish anointing the body. And they found the stone rolled back from the tomb, but when they went inside, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. While they were perplexed and wondering about this, suddenly two men in dazzling clothing stood near them and as the women were terrified and bowing their faces to the ground the men said to them:
Why are you looking for the Living One among the dead? He is not here, but has risen. (Luke 24:5)
Half asleep wondering why the Holy Spirit had dropped this scripture into my heart, I pondered the meaning. What was God trying to tell me? And in the “whis” of a whisper I heard the Shepherd’s voice again:
“Joanne, you are looking for me in dead places; the places that you have on life support with your own agenda; the people on whom you are depending; the areas where you have idols set up in your heart; the places of shame and regret.”
That was a wake up call better than any alarm clock. I shot out of bed and spent time repenting of the things in my life that were not life-giving.
Perhaps as you read this you recognize things in your own life that are not life-giving. Release them to the Lord through repentance and ask Him to lead you into life giving relationships, circumstance, jobs, etc. Only when HE breathes HIS life into our life situations will we find freedom. The resurrection power of Jesus Christ who broke through the grave and shed His grave clothes, brought us life eternal and that same power breathes life into the God given purposes He has for us. As I write this blog, I sense that there are some people pleasers out there who are worn out, always looking for affirmation from others driven by fear of rejection. As a reformed people pleaser, I can sincerely tell you that people will sometimes let you down. You can pour into them expecting the same, and you only end up feeling drained. Choose life giving friendships that give and take. Remember people pleasing can be a dead end street. Pleasing God is a beautiful road with options for life.
When Jesus was raised from the dead and appeared to His disciples, He looked for Peter on the beach. He singled him out knowing that Peter had chosen a life stealing option of denying Christ. Jesus knew that he needed to breathe life giving words on him, restoring him from shame and regret having denied His Savior. Perhaps someone reading this needs restoration from shame or regret. Jesus is whispering to you:
Why do you look for the living among the dead?
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