Take a moment to read the entire chapter of Luke 24 before reading the devotional below.
In the biggest mic drop of all time, Jesus heads back up to heaven in a supernatural fashion. As we finish the book of Luke, we hear the story of the post-dead Jesus. He fulfilled the words he had spoken and gave a permanent hope to his followers that we continue to access today. If he’s dead, then everything he ever did or said was false. But if he’s alive, then suddenly his message comes with a proof and a guarantee. He is able to make good on his word.
Two words jumped out at me as I read today’s chapter: “But” and “disbelief.” The chapter starts with “But…” It captures that horror and despair that we talked about in yesterday’s post. Here we are, enveloped in a story gone horribly wrong, when one tiny little word changes everything. “But very early Sunday morning…” You know those women had barely slept and were waiting for the first hint of light in order to declare the end of the Sabbath and rush back to the body of Jesus. Because of their faithfulness, women are the first to receive the good news (and the first called to preach it to the men).
And what did the men think of the women’s first attempt to spread the good news? Disbelief. Nonsense. Sometimes the very people we need to listen to the most are the ones we dismiss as crazy. In all fairness, they stood in disbelief when Jesus himself came to tell them the good news. Their faith, unlike the women’s, required extra proof. Jesus met each one where they were at in order to give them the faith they would need to establish the early church.
Here’s your freedom for today: regardless of the size of your faith, God will equip you with what you need for the mission. If your heart accepts the message without seeing any physical evidence (as it was with the women at the tomb), God will send you out to go preach it to the world. If you need a little extra proof, God will give it to you and then send you out to go preach it to the world. Our hearts and minds all work at different speeds and God will give you what you need in order to develop trust in the message. And as he proves himself over and over in your life, you will gain confidence and boldness to share your story with others.