Scripture
The women were terrified and bowed with their faces to the ground. Then the men asked, “Why are you looking among the dead for someone who is alive? He isn’t here! He is risen from the dead!
Luke 24:5-6
Observation
The women had the best intentions when willing to minister to Jesus’ body, but they were looking for the Savior in the wrong place. They forgot what Jesus told them about what would happen three days after his death. They needed to hear that He was alive in order to stop searching for Him among the dead. Their concern for serving the tomb was greater than their concern for reuniting with Him. They were diligent to clean the tomb and to pour oils in His dead body, but they were not diligent to seek and experience the power of His resurrection. In the midst of their distraction, Jesus comes gently and encourages them to look for Him in the right place.
Application
I wonder how many times I seek the Lord in the wrong places. Do I go among the dead to seek the one who is alive? When my church needs direction, where do I go? Do I go to the books of leadership, or to conferences, or to wiser people rather than going to Jesus first? When my heart is fearful and weak, where do I go? Do I go to my hobbies so I can feel better about myself, or to the gym to burn out the adrenaline, rather than going to Jesus first? Where do I go when I fall and sin? Do I go to guilt trips and places of insecurity, or do I go to Jesus to offer me His grace, forgiveness and mercy? I can have the best intentions in the world to find Jesus, but if I seek Him in the wrong places, I will never find Him.
By His grace, He appeared to the women and recalibrated their hearts. In the same way, Jesus is reaching out to me and asking me to recalibrate my heart. My diligence cannot be limited to what I do in ministry, but must embrace who I am in Him. Lately, my ministry has become the only focus of my diligence and effort. The relevance of the church is not what I’m being evaluated for. I need to be at His feet. I need to seek Him. I need to find the power of the resurrection working in my heart. He is all I need! And the quicker I learn where to find Him, the quicker I will find Him.
Prayer
Lord Jesus, thank you so much for your patience and grace over my life. Forgive me for the many times where I look for you in the wrong places. Help me to run to you in such a way that I run towards the right place. I don’t want to be like the marathon runner, who ran with all of his might and passion in order to cross the finish line, but that ran the wrong course of the race. I’m running really heard, and I have the best intentions to find you as I do ministry. Please give me wisdom and discernment to always go to the place where you are. I cannot loose focus in the ministry of my own heart. I need you desperately in this season of my life. I need more of you and less of me. I want to experience the miracle of transformation in my daily habits. Change me and make me more like you. I know that you are among the living, and that you are in Heaven’s throne. So let me seek your face first always, before I go somewhere else. In finding you first, I will find where to go next because I will not go alone, I will be with you. Amen!
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