Death is not the end of the story

Before Jesus was crucified, He made it very clear that he would be resurrected.  He knew that death was not the end of His story.

In John 2:19-20, Jesus goes in and clears the temple and calls out the religious leaders for making His father’s house into a place of profit for them instead of a house of prayer.  The leaders were upset with Jesus and asked him to show them a sign that He had the authority from God to do these things.  Jesus then tells them that if they destroyed this temple that he would raise it up in three days. They were spiritually deaf and dumb and assumed that He was speaking of the physical temple that took 46 years to build.   However, Jesus was speaking of His crucifixion and resurrection.

After He was crucified, the religious leaders went to Pilate and said, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it” (Mathew 27:63-66).  Little did they know that no security on their part could stop the supernatural work of God.   On the third day, Jesus shook death off of Him and He was resurrected just like he said!

As believers, Jesus’ resurrection has powerful implications for us.  God’s intentions are always for life, and that more abundantly.  Some of us are facing dead situations, but God has already told us that death is not the end of the story.  However, with the passing of time, we can allow the devil to convince us that death is how our story will end.  But it is not so! I want to encourage you to partner with God and begin to believe and speak life!  Speak what God has already spoken in your ear.  Rehearse the promises.  Hold on to them regardless of how dead your situation may appear.  The same power that raised Jesus from the dead is the same power that is able to raise your dead situation.  The devil can try to put stones and His guards in the way to block life and hinder the promises of God.   However, there is no devil in hell that can hinder what God has spoken.  This upcoming Resurrection Sunday I want to encourage you to not only rejoice for the resurrection of Jesus but let out a crazy praise for the life that is coming to your dead situation!

 

Anika Jones

About the Author

Anika Jones

Anika Jones is a speaker and author of the book Lessons Learned Along The Way: A 40 Day Devotional. She blogs about faith and family at LivingForLater.com and posts weekly videos on her YouTube channels, Living For Later (@livingforlater) and Living Life Now (@livinglifenow). Anika loves speaking about developing intimacy with God and understanding who we are in Christ. She serves alongside her husband in ministry. They live in Illinois with their 6 children.