April 9, 2023

Luke 24: 1-3 On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus. (NIV)

Who we are is often defined by our greatest disappointments.*

The women who went to the tomb that morning were not expecting what they found there. Already sad and hurting because their loved one was executed in the most brutal fashion, they arrived to find . . . nothing. Luke doesn’t tell us what they said or how they felt when they saw the empty tomb, except to say they were “wondering about this.” When two men, dressed in clothes that gleamed like lightening, suddenly appeared to them, their unmet expectations turned into a defining moment. 

How often we experience similar circumstances. We suffer disappointment: we don’t get the job; we miscarry; a loved one abandons us. But God can turn setbacks into pivotal points in a better direction. My fiancé broke up with me so I transferred to a different college and changed my life. My first marriage was a disaster but I came out of it with my beautiful twin boys. I lost a job I loved but it led to a better one. 

Yes, God made lemonade out of my lemons, but that didn’t change the fact that my heart had been broken, my marriage failed, and I was devastated when I lost my job. The men in the shiny clothing delivered the best news ever – “He is not here; he is risen” – but the crucifixion still happened. The women didn’t forget about it just because things got better. The scars from our bad experiences don’t just disappear when conditions improve. But when we look back, we can see that God was with us in the midst of disaster and it gives us hope as we face the next crisis and claim his promises: 

· Never will I leave you; never will I forsake you. (Hebrews 13: 5) 

· And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. (Romans 8: 28)

Empty lives find hope in an empty tomb.*