“I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living! Wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” – Psalm 27:13-14

Waiting on the Lord has taken a whole new meaning in our lives this Easter season. We have suddenly found ourselves in a new period of waiting. We’ve spent more seasons of waiting than we care to admit. Waiting for the next best thing, next stage of life, next job, next vacation, next child to start school, next child to finish school, or next fill in the blank… so learning to trust the Lord and waiting on His timing has been a lifelong quest for us.

Today, however, we all find ourselves waiting together for the same thing… freedom. And looking ahead to more weeks of shelter at home can feel overwhelming. So when a friend sent us this scripture last week, it struck us once again that God’s ways and His timing are not our own. The real question is do we trust Him.

There are different levels in which we may be called to trust God, and each of them can cause us to pause and take your breath away. Do we trust God when the diagnosis is not what we had hoped for? Do we trust Him when our kids are struggling? Do we trust Him when our marriages do not turn out as we had planned? Do we trust Him when our jobs end unexpectedly? Do we trust Him with our future? Which leads us to Easter.

The resurrection of Christ is the greatest event in the history of mankind. It is in the resurrection we are asked the ultimate question – do we really trust God?

One doesn’t have to live long to see that we are surrounded by brokenness – our own brokenness and the brokenness of others. This is what the Bible calls sin, and it separates us from God. God created us to have fellowship and intimacy with Him, but sin has left us broken and separated from Him. There are many ways that we as people try to bridge that gap and fill the hole that’s left in our hearts, but ultimately, they leave us empty and wanting more.

So, 2000 years ago, Jesus, the Son of God, left heaven, was born on this earth, and lived as a man. He lived a perfect life – completely free from sin. Yet, he was crucified – as a criminal and buried. However, on the third day, the Bible tells us that God raised Him from the dead. 1 Corinthians 15:3-4 says, “…Christ died for our sins according to the Scriptures. He was buried, and he was raised on the third day accord-ing to the scriptures.” His death paid the penalty for our sins! Romans 6:23 says, “For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord.” The apostle Paul traveled throughout the known world preaching this message of hope. “If you confess with your mouth that Jesus is Lord and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved.” (Romans 10:9) It is only through Christ that the problem of sin is solved (John 14:6), and there is nothing we can do to earn or deserve it (Ephesians 2:8-9). The beautiful story of Easter beckons a response from each of us. We have a God who is alive and desires to have a personal relationship with each of us. We each have a choice to make – to draw near to the throne of Grace to receive His mercy and to find help in our time of need (Hebrews 4:16) or to remain isolated from Him, continuing on our own.

So, as we remain in quarantine this Easter season and you find yourself sheltered in place – waiting to return to life as we know it – we pray that you will choose to draw near to God. That you will choose a life that is not distant from the One who loves you but rather choose to live in an intimate relationship with HIM.

Happy Easter from our family to yours,

Nathan & Patty Sheets

For further reflection, below are a few questions you can ask yourself or your family:

• When you hear the true meaning of Easter, how does it encourage you?
• What areas of your life is God asking you to trust Him with?
• What is one way you can celebrate Easter with your family this year?

For a printable version of this devotional, please download here.