Why did it surprise them? Why?
They'd seen Jesus do some pretty amazing things. He had healed hundreds, no thousands of people. The lame walked and the blind saw. Demons fled at his command, and when he spoke, the waves calmed and the winds ceased. This man even walked on water. They had likely been there when Jesus disrupted the funeral in Nain by raising the widow's son from the dead and they were probably in his entourage when he brought Lazarus out of the tomb. He had walked on water and calmed storms. They knew that this was no ordinary man.
And they had been there to hear his teachings. Time and again he had told his disciples that he would go to Jerusalem and die, and that on the third day he would rise again. He'd said it once, twice, many times. But when the women went to the tomb on the morning of the third day, they were filled with sorrow, without hope, expecting nothing.
But on the first day of the week, at early dawn, they went to the tomb, taking the spices they had prepared.
They went to the tomb bearing spices, not expectations. They waited until the Sabbath was over and they were going to properly anoint Jesus' body. It was an act of love, but one devoid of faith. They did not have any expectation that God was going to do (no, had done!) anything world altering that day.
What idiots. How could they be so silly? How could they lack faith in Jesus like that? Oh, wait a minute. Oops. They were only behaving the way we act - the way I act - so often. I've been in meetings in churches, discussing issues, when I realized that the assumption of those involved was pretty simple and pretty grim. God was going to do absolutely nothing! It's all up to us! I've approached financial situations in my own life with the same assumption.
Every time we approach a crisis in life with the assumption that God is going to do nothing, we err! We err grievously!
These precious ladies learned a wonderful lesson that day. God is at work in this world. When they arrived at the tomb, they found the stone rolled away and and tomb empty. The angels chided them for seeking the dead among the living. Jesus had been raised! He was alive and at work in the world again.
The same thing is true today. I don't always know what God is doing. No, that does not state it accurately. God confuses me. Sometimes he frustrates me because his actions leave me utterly bewildered. But he is at work. His Word is true, his will is best and his ways are right. My job is trust him and to believe that he is going to work in power.
I've been reminded of this recently. A couple of years ago we faced a family crisis that had to do with a home we own jointly with my son and his wife. To my shame, I was angry, even upset at God, because things did not work out as I thought they should. Why would God let this happen to me, to us? Now, as things are coming together 2 years later, I see the hand of God in it all. His plan is better than mine. I just needed to trust and obey. I fell into the fault of the ladies at tomb - I assumed God was doing nothing, when in fact he was at work in power!
Here's my hope, as we face our next challenge as a family or as a church - I want to walk in faith, believing that big God will do big things by his amazing grace and power. I want to trust the God who was at work at the tomb instead of being like the ladies with the spices. I've spent too much time carrying the spices in despair instead of trusting the God who raises the dead.
Father, I serve a God who brought life where Satan and all the forces of evil had marshaled to prevent it. Your power is unstoppable. Help me to remember that and believe. Forgive me for my doubt, my despair. Fill me with a sense of awe and wonder at your power.
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