“Death has been swallowed up in victory. Where, O death, is your victory? Where, O death, is your sting?” The sting of death is sin, and the power of sin is the law. But thanks be to God! He gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ.– 1 Corinthians 15:54b-57 (NIV)
Nature is always teaching me spiritual lessons.
Several years ago, I was walking in a deserted forest and came upon discarded trash that someone had thrown away from a renovation project. Old concrete pavers, concrete joints, stones, and other building materials littered the forest floor. I squatted down to take a closer look at the pavers in the photo above. My attention was drawn to a small green plant… a plant that against all odds, was growing out of a collection of cold, hard concrete surrounded by dead leaves and sticks. My heart pounded with the realization there is something in nature that tells all creatures to free themselves from death and make way for new life, even a tiny delicate plant growing on the forest floor.
As we sit one day on the other side of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, I am reminded that God has provided a way for freedom from death so that we may grow into new life. This Easter Promise isn’t for one day alone, but is woven throughout our entire lives. Let’s face it—we are all dying. We live in a decaying world. Death is around us all the time. Dreams die, relationships die, people die, animals die, my hairdryer died recently…there is no stopping it.
But thankfully, as I read the passage above, death no longer has the victory, the “upper hand”, because Jesus has conquered it! The good news is that God always is leading us from places of death into places of life! And we can have the same victory over death because we believe in Jesus.
Where in your life is there decay or death? It may be inside you or outside you… in what areas does God need to breathe new life into you? What places of life would you like God to bring you to? Align yourself with His victory over sin and death, clutching the Easter Promise, and rise out of death into new life!
Prayer–“Gracious God, thank you for the providing Jesus as the ultimate sacrifice so I can have victory over death, just as He did. Open my heart to see areas of decay and death in my own life, forgive and change me so that I may follow you into the land of the living. In Jesus’ Name. Amen.”
Prayer For All Days 