finding hope in the a world of impossibility

There’s a Boulder in the Way
“The stone in the way is too big for me”…  That seems to be what the women were thinking as they approached their goal… towards the tomb where they thought the dead messiah lay… the hope of the world in a cold tomb…. (Mark 16)
 Have you ever felt like that.. that the very thing you’ve hoped on is dead? Even your best efforts seem futile in light of the insurmountable stone placed in your path.
All they wanted was to put spices on the savior’s dead body, but they headed out, wondering right from the start if their purposes for even this small act of worship amidst the pain would be thwarted…
 The reality when they arrived was quite different…
Gratefully, rather than listening to the voice of futility and powerlessness, the women   moved towards their goal and encountered the world transforming news of a risen savior… Our savior. They did their part… to arrive at the scene, God took care of the  rest.
 
Your God Is Not Dead  
The diagnoses had been accurate. … the spear proved it… the blood and water had rushed out from His heart.. There was no denying his death… so when the women refused to believe the facts some could say they needed a mental exam, that they simply weren’t facing reality, they were just seeing things… After all they were seeing men dressed in white saying that dead men were raised…Maybe they needed their heads examined. That seems to be the way we would hear it… the doctor saying “did you hear me right…. Your diagnoses are saying you should be hopeless.” If you ‘re not there’s something wrong… But what if the natural reality doesn’t get to determine our present hope?   What if what happened in the past doesn’t get to keep us a victim…? Can you imagine if Christ was raised from the dead and spent the rest of His time here on earth telling the story of how he was victimized and creating a pity club for victims…?  But he didn’t… His resurrected reality was so contrasting… it was LIFE.. It was a new life…  There is a reason that protestant Christians don’t have pictures of Jesus on the cross all over their homes… It’s because that is not the resurrection reality… He isn’t a chronic victim…. He is the one who overcame!!! He took captivity captive and defeated death….We live in the power of His resurrection.. It is our resurrection…We have overcome in Christ… We have overcome death, powerlessness, futility, and abandonment as we live in and through Him… What does that mean? 
The diagnoses ( whether  physical, financial or mental) I have received doesn’t get to define my future… The resurrection power of Christ does.
The abandonment I felt in the past doesn’t get to define me… Christ is right here in my present.. in front of me, resurrected and the question lingers in the air… “Woman, why are you weeping?”
The trajectory of my life can change… it’s time to let go of my old plans to” just minister to the dead..” I have room to create a new plan…. The resurrection of Christ demands it… The women didn’t insist on doing what they came for.. Can you imagine if they told the angel …. “Well Christ’s body can’t be found but at least we’ll get the job done here.. maybe just pour the anointing spices out in the tomb…..” When we face the resurrection power of Christ, we have to change our trajectory. Our whole direction changes…
 No their whole lives were changed and transformed…And Mary Magdalene, told the truth … that Jesus was raised… even in the midst of skeptics-the disciples… Those who were called to be world changers around her took a while to grasp on to hope. Let’s be honest we can be surrounded by well meaning Christians who haven’t caught the revelation of what God is doing… Don’t let them steal your hope… they will have their own encounter with Jesus…. You live from yours!!!! 
Live from your current reality… Jesus who was slain from the foundation of the earth still lived in the present assignment… He didn’t live in the moment when His father looked away…in the “ why have you forsaken me?” He went ahead into Galilee.. Jesus had an assignment on the earth and he kept moving forward into it… He set up His next meeting with the disciples…
What’s your next assignment? Is hope differed trying to permanently crucify it and put it into a tomb..? Where is God speaking to you to change your trajectory? What lies are blocking you? What stones do you think will be in the way? Is it possible that God has already assigned angels to move them so that when you get there you will see that God has made a way. Leave the weeping, the grieving… give the pain over to Jesus…
     He died to carry your sorrows… And He’s not dead… That means the impossible is still possible. If you will  believe.. you will see it. You will reap what you sow… Unfortunately doubt has seeds that grow futility… Let’s take this spring to tear up the fallow ground, root up the weeds of doubt, despair and abandonment that have lodged themselves in to portions of our lives where brokenness has lingered.. let’s clean up the ground of our minds and invite the Holy Spirit with his winds of cleansing and change to plant the seeds of hope and life throughout the gardens of our life. I dare you to dream again… to change your trajectory and to live in the resurrection. Living with resentment towards God permeating your thinking comes at too high a cost…. LET GO of the sorrow of Friday…. And step into Sunday…..
Let the resurrection of Christ in you infuse you in every way to live FULLY in the power, confidence and Glory that Christ wants to manifest in you… You are a resurrected child of God.. His power to create, to cleanse, to transform, lives in you…..You are established in His love so that you can release it’s power! I declare that the chains of limitation are coming off your mind during this season and the resurrection glory is being manifested in you like fire to destroy doubt, limitation, futility, depression and despair.. The beauty of Jesus is seen in you and on you and the faithfulness of God to carry you no matter what you face is your shield…Let the fire come!!!!Let the Fire burn away the dross of a false view of God and yourself. It’s time to soar.. It’s time for the bird to recognize that a wall cannot stop them from flying… Lift your wings. Extend them and flap.. and your whole perspective will change. The walls will suddenly be far below you as your horizon expands and you realize you can go anywhere the wings of the spirit carry  you!
 
 

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