By Our key verse for this
devotional is:
He isn’t here- -he has
risen victoriously, just as he said! Come inside the tomb and see the place
where our Lord was lying. Matthew 28:6
(TPT)
Hello Galilee Life
Family,
I hope you are enjoying
the Spring. Spring is my favorite month.
We recently celebrated the resurrection of Jesus, and I wanted to share
another devotional about this monumental event.
The devotional was inspired by a recent sermon I heard online. The theme centered around the word “Empty
or Emptiness”.
What does the word Empty
or Emptiness mean to you?
I took the liberty of
looking up the word in the dictionary and thesaurus. The
first definition defines the word empty as containing nothing; having none
of the usual or appropriate contents; an empty bottle. The second
definition defines empty as no occupant, vacant, unoccupied: an empty house.
Another meaning of empty is a destitute of some quality or qualities; devoid: Theirs is a life now empty of happiness. The last definition I will share is without
force, effect, or significance; hollow; meaningless: empty compliments; empty
pleasures. Here are
synonyms for “empty”: barren,
void, unfilled, abandoned, dead, lacking, wanting.
As we look at these words,
we can see that they are words that make us feel sad and unfulfilled. But when Jesus rose on the third day and they
found his linens (grave’s clothes) in the tomb, the tomb was now “empty”! So
this is Good News! Hallelujah!
When we first came to
Jesus, we came with “empty hands” in a posture of surrender and admitting we
were a sinner, and in need of a Savior.
Jesus is our Burden Carrier. We
didn’t have to prove anything to Jesus. We could come as we are. We may have felt empty, hopeless, or
in despair. We
might have been tired of living our lives by ourselves. Jesus can fill us with his overflowing joy
and all-surpassing peace.
Now may God, the fountain
of hope, fill you to overflowing with uncontainable joy and perfect peace as
you trust in him. Romans 15:13 (TPT)
We can still experience
supernatural joy and peace despite our circumstances.
What if a lake or well
dries up? How can people get their water?
Or what if a man walks for miles in a desert and he opens his canteen
and only one single drop of water comes out?
Jesus is the Well of Living Water; He can refresh us daily.
Everyone who drinks this water will be thirsty again, but whoever
drinks the water I give them will never thirst. Indeed, the water I give them
will become in them a “spring of water” welling up to eternal life.” John 4:13-14 (NIV)
People can sometimes “promise
us the world”, but in the end, we are usually disappointed. They are unreliable and do not fulfill
their promises. But
Jesus is the Truth, and he stands on the promises of his Father. We can fully
trust Him.
“I am the way and the
truth and the life. No one comes to the Father except through me… John 14:6 (NIV)
Let us hold tightly
without wavering to the hope we affirm, for God can be trusted to keep his
promise. Hebrews 10:23 (NLT)
What if a man travels a
great distance with a map in his possession, and finally reaches his
destination, then opens the treasure chest, and finds it “empty”? What does the
man feel? Yes, he is unhappy, exhausted, and disappointed. But what if we compare and or contrast this
story with the tomb? Because Jesus rose from the dead, we can be heirs to
Christ and a Holy Royal Eternal Kingdom!
For his Holy Spirit speaks to us deep in
our hearts and tells us that we are God’s children. And since we are his
children, we will share his “treasures”—for everything God gives to his Son,
Christ, is ours, too. Romans 8:16-17 (NLT)
For his fountain of mercy
has given us a new life—we are reborn to experience a living, energetic hope through
the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. We are reborn into a perfect
inheritance that can never perish, never be defiled, and never diminish. 1 Peter 1:3-4 (TPT)
So isn’t it amazing and
powerful when we look at the “empty” tomb and see all that Jesus offers us?
I like to leave you with
this final verse.
As the rain and the snow
come down from heaven, and do not return to it without watering the earth and
making it bud and flourish, so that it yields seed for the sower and bread for
the eater, so is my word that goes out from my mouth: It will not return to me “empty”,
but will accomplish what I desire and achieve the purpose for which I sent
it. Isaiah 55:10-11 (NIV)
Prayer
Dear Jesus
We thank you for being our
Savior. We rejoice that you are “A live”! You have defeated death and risen
from the grave. May we come to know You
more and embrace all You have to offer us freely and unconditionally. Amen.
