Hope

Earlier this morning, (even before our pastor talked about it in his sermon...that was a God moment) I was thinking about the similarities between Jesus' followers during the time between the crucifixion and resurrection and us during the Covid pandemic. They had locked themselves in a house/room to protect themselves. They felt fear and disbelief at what was happening. They were uncertain of what was to come next. It seemed like the dark things of this world and death had won. Sound familiar?

I always count myself blessed to already know the end of that first Easter story. Jesus' resurrection is full of light, hope for the future and reassurance of God's presence. During our time in world history, we don't know what the end of the Covid pandemic will look like. While living in the middle of this uncertain story, we can personally claim the truth of light and hope Jesus brought many years ago.

Many of us have vowed that when this is over things will be different. We want to be able to take something good and valuable away from this difficult situation. After Jesus' resurrection things on earth were never the same. Sin and death can no longer separate us from God. We are made into a new creation. We can now be called God's beloved child.

The Holy Spirit came down and gave Jesus life that Sunday morning. When Jesus went to his followers he "breathed on them and gave them the Holy Spirit." (John 20:22 paraphrase) We are also given the Holy Spirit when we claim this act of love and salvation to be true for ourselves. In Ephesians 1:13 (NLT) it says, "The truth is the Good News. When you heard the truth, you put your trust in Christ. Then God marked you by giving you His Holy Spirit as a promise."

Like many of you, I'm sure, I've had ups and downs over these past few weeks. Times of feeling overwhelmed and full of fear. Times of hope, reassurance and trusting that God is in control. And everything in between! Over here we are honestly living day by day, sometimes even hour by hour. The times I feel the most at peace are when I pause, lift my eyes from the problem at hand (world pandemic, squirrelly children, juggling work and kids' schooling, health flare ups) and focus on God's faithfulness. May this Easter Sunday be a reminder to you and I that Jesus light and hope of deliverance can be experienced by us today. May the Holy Spirt constantly remind us of this and give us peace as we experience life in these uncertain times.

I now leave you with a song by Phil Wickham, Living Hope. I heard it while making dinner. This declares in song form all that I have been reflecting on today.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=u-1fwZtKJSM