April 15, 2022
God’s Got You
Mary Southerland
Today's Truth
He is not here; he has risen! (Luke 24:6 NIV).
Friend to Friend
The promise that "God's Got You" is the basic theme of Easter. A crisis knocks us to our knees. Panic grips our hearts. No hope, no solution, and no deliverance. But when we cry out to God, His response changes everything. "I've got you, child!" Then everything that seemed to be falling apart begins falling into place. We realize that the crisis we thought came to destroy us came to cleanse us. And through it all, we hear the promise from our Father, "I've got you!"
That is precisely what the women learned when they went to the tomb that first Easter morning. The women knew Jesus was dead. And they were sure His body was in the tomb; it had been there since Friday. But when they went to anoint the body on that Sunday morning, the tomb was empty!
The body could not have been stolen. The miracle was real! They could see the empty tomb with their own eyes.
He is not here; he has risen! (Luke 24:6 NIV).
Jesus Christ really had risen from the dead, leaving them with the message and hope of "I've got you!"
I would love to have been there that morning when the women went to the tomb – expecting to deal with death and instead found life, wouldn't you?
You may be dealing with death in your own life – the loss of a loved one,the death of a dream, the pain of a broken body. But, remember, the tomb was empty, and He's got you!
In Mrs. Stephens' fourth grade Sunday school class, the boys and girls entered the room and quickly found their seats. The kids were dressed in their finest clothes. The room was filled with excitement – for a good reason. It was Easter Sunday.
Mrs. Stephens wanted to help her students understand that there is much more to the Easter holiday than new clothes, chocolate bunnies, and egg hunts.
Easter is about life. Easter celebrates the certainty of Jesus' death on the cross, burial, and resurrection– Now we can have eternal life with Jesus in heaven, and abundant life with Him here and now.
Mrs. Stephens came up with a plan. After sharing the Bible story of Jesus' resurrection, she gave each one of her students an empty plastic egg and said, "We are going to take a walk outside and I want each one of you to find one sign of life and put it in your plastic egg."
As the children filed out of the room, Mrs. Stephens noticed Danny, a little boy with Down Syndrome who had been coming to her class for some time. She often thought he had taught her so much more about the unconditional love of God and the joy of simply being a child of God than she could ever teach him. Even when the other children made fun of Danny, he thought of each child as his "buddy."
The children returned from their walk, depositing their eggs on the teacher's desk. The children had collected flowers, ants, blades of grass, and even a butterfly to fill their eggs. But one egg was empty. Everyone knew whose egg it was.
Mrs. Stephens silenced the giggles with a look of warning. When she asked Danny why he hadn't put anything inside his egg to show signs of life, his face broke into a massive grin as he responded, "Because the tomb was empty."
Danny understood the profound truth of Easter. The empty tomb is the ultimate sign of life and a miracle like none other.
On this Easter weekend, spend some time thanking God for the miracle of life. And then share the good news with someone else: He has risen! He is risen indeed!
Let’s Pray
Father, thank You for the miracle of life. Help me celebrate that life every day. I say with the apostle Paul, “Where, O death, is your sting?” In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Now It’s Your Turn
What does the resurrection of Jesus Christ mean to you? Set aside time today to remember what Christ has done in your life through His death on the cross and His resurrection from the dead.
More from the Girlfriends
We can learn to be joyful. We just have to make the choice to search for God's handprints every day. Mary’s spiral bound Joy Journal will help guide you to a place of contentment and joy.
Connect with Mary on Facebook or through email at mary@marysoutherland.com.
Need prayer? Email our Prayer Team Director, Ginger Meador. We would love to pray for you!
© 2022 by Mary Southerland. All rights reserved.
Originally published Friday, 15 April 2022.
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