TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” John 20:19
Read: John 20:1-19
Listen: John 20
TODAY’S MESSAGE
Easter 2020 is one we will not soon forget. We put our traditional Easter plans on hold and stayed home. We celebrated the gift of the resurrection huddled in our homes rather than going to Easter church services and having dinners with family. Many of us might think this just doesn’t feel like Easter. But what if the first Easter wasn’t all that different than Easter 2020?
Let’s imagine what the disciples were feeling over two thousand years ago. It had only been three days since Jesus was brutally executed before their eyes. They were confused, afraid, and broken. Their plans to see Israel free from Rome had died with their leader. All of their plans had been completely upended. Yet, even amid all that confusion, fear and broken plans, God was at work in ways they could not have imagined. He was saving the whole world that day even if they couldn’t see it.
We don’t know how long this quarantine will last or when we will get back to our plans. It can be easy to feel like God is far off right now, but God is at work all around us in ways we might not see. God is here, he is working, and he wants to meet us in this season—even if we cannot see it.
IN YOUR CHAIR TIME TODAY
As you begin this week, start with a prayer. Pray something like this, “God, it feels like all my plans seem to have disappeared, and I am worried about what the future might hold. However, even though I may not see what you are doing, I know you are at work around me. Today I will trust you. Help me to trust you.”
Download a printable PDF of the BTW week here.
