Morning by Morning, April 6 - He Turns Weeping to Joy!
Good morning, Lord Jesus. Be at the center of my heart and with me on every step of my day. ...
“But Mary stood weeping outside the tomb. As she wept, she bent over to look into the tomb; and she saw two angels in white, sitting where the body of Jesus had been lying, one at the head and the other at the feet. They said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping?’ She said to them, ‘They have taken away my Lord, and I do not know where they have laid Him.’ When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, but she did not know that it was Jesus. Jesus said to her, ‘Woman, why are you weeping? Whom are you looking for?’ Supposing Him to be the gardener, she said to Him, ‘Sir, if You have carried Him away, tell me where you have laid Him, and I will take him away.’ Jesus said to her, ‘Mary!’ She turned and said to Him in Hebrew, ‘Rabbouni!” (which means Teacher). Jesus said to her, ‘Do not hold on to Me, because I have not yet ascended to the Father. But go to My brothers and say to them, ‘I am ascending to My Father and your Father, to My God and your God.’ Mary Magdalene went and announced to the disciples, ‘I have seen the Lord’; and she told them that He had said these things to her” (John 20:11-18).
In reading through these familiar passages of the Resurrection again, Your Holy Spirit is revealing different things to me. They’re familiar words but timeless truths. And there’s always more depth to explore, more truth to glean, more life to embrace.
What strikes me this morning is that both You and Your angels ask Mary the same question, “Woman, why are you weeping?” ...
You weren’t asking the question because You didn’t know the answer. You knew. The angels. All of heaven and that part of the earth knew. Jesus of Nazareth had been crucified, dead, and buried. And she was weeping. She was grieving. Her heart was breaking and her mind was spinning in what must have been the most devastating time of disappointment and discouragement, of hopeless despair she had ever endured. She knew about the Cross and the Empty Tomb. But she had not yet experienced the Power of the Resurrection.
How many today are just the same? They know about the Cross and the Empty Tomb. They’ve heard all the “Easter” stories. But down in their hearts they’re still weeping, still grieving, still stuck in their sorrows and all the struggles they’re enduring in a world or through a time that seems so hopeless, so discouraging, so disappointing.
Like Mary, how we need to hear You speak our name! How we need a personal encounter with the Risen Lord! How need an experience of Your Resurrection Power!
You’re the God who turns weeping to dancing, who turns sorrow to singing. You’re the God who takes our sorrows and sadness, our hopelessness and despair, to speak New Life into our spirits!
Just like You rolled back the stone and emptied the tomb in the Glory of Your Resurrection, You can roll back our doubts and empty our sorrows and fill us afresh with Faith and Trust in Your Resurrection Power!
You’re the Fulfillment of every Promise of Your Word, “Weeping may endure for a night, but joy come in the morning!” (Psalm 30:5) “In Your Presence there is fullness of joy!” (Psalm 16:11) “The ransomed of the Lord shall return and come to Zion with singing; everlasting joy shall be upon their heads; they shall obtain joy and gladness, and sorrow and sighing shall flee away!” (Isaiah 35:10)
Lord Jesus, I thank You for the freedom to grieve in sorrow, to ask questions in doubt, to be honest with my pain and every struggle I’m ever going through, no matter how discouraging, disappointing, or hopeless it may seem. But I also thank You for Power of Your Resurrection! For the New Life You speak into my spirit! For the invitation I have every day to listen for Your Voice, to hear You speak my name, and turn my weeping to joy as I encounter Your Presence! In Jesus’ name I pray. Amen.
Be encouraged today! In the Love of Jesus, Tommy Hays
My friend, may your weeping be turned to joy as you encounter the Presence of the Rise Lord and His Resurrection Power, in Jesus' name. Please pray the same for me. God bless you, my friend!
Tommy & Rocio Hays
Messiah Ministries
17503 La Cantera Parkway, Suite 104407
San Antonio, Texas 78257
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