Easter Reflections in Isolation

Happy Easter, everyone!

Guys, I am so excited to share with you today a little bit of what God has placed on my heart.  Often when I think of Easter, I think of chocolate eggs, pretty dresses and springtime, but Easter is so much more than all of that.  Easter is the celebration that is most central to our faith; today marks the day that Jesus came back to life, conquered sin and death once and for all, and made a way for us to have a relationship with God!  Easter is the time for the greatest celebration because it reminds us that we do not have to go through this life alone.  God is with us!

When Jesus rose from the dead, He proved that He was God, and that the curse of sin had been broken.  Jesus not only bought our eternal life with His death and resurrection, He has given us freedom from sin today!  Because the Holy Spirit lives inside of each of us believers, we can find victory over our struggles.

1 Corinthians 10:13 tells us that “God is faithful; he will not let you be tempted beyond what you can bear. But when you are tempted, he will also provide a way out so that you can endure it.”

What incredible news this is!  Not only does God tell me the best way to live life, but even when I fail to live life that way, or when I’m tempted to choose to live life my own way, God will help me choose Him.

Each of us as believers will still struggle with choosing God’s ways over our own as long as we are on this earth, but we don’t have to go through that fight on our own. I don’t know about you guys, but I often find that the harder I try to not think of something, all of a sudden that thing is the only thing I can think of.  I think it is a similar thing when I focus too much on the things I am not supposed to do: when avoiding sin becomes too much of a focus, then my failure is almost sure to happen. 

But the great news is that because of Easter, because of Jesus, I don’t have to focus on a list of dos and don’ts, I can instead focus on building a relationship with God Himself. 

Because of Jesus, we now get to have a daily relationship with the God of the universe!  When I focus on Him, on getting to know Him as a person, and building our relationship, it is easier for me to live life the way that He wants me to live.  It’s the same as with any relationship; the more you get to know and like a person, the more you may find yourself having similar mannerisms: using the same phrases, liking the same things, or maybe even dressing the same way.  The more time we spend with God, the more we become like Him.

Because of Jesus, God is available for us to talk to any time we want.  I know for me, this has been super helpful in this time of isolation.  I am a bit of an extrovert by nature, what I mean by that is that getting to spend time with the people I love gives me energy and motivation.  So, living by myself this past month and being isolated from people has been really difficult for me.  I have been finding it tough to do productive things and not just want to lay on the couch and watch Netflix all day.  

But what I have found in this time, is that when I so desperately want to be with my friends and family who would normally energize me, I can turn to God and share with Him my loneliness and desire for companionship.  And you know what?  It works!  It may sound crazy that God could be that kind of a friend, that He would be FUN to be around, but guys, I have found this past month especially that God is amazing to spend time with!  He loves spending time with me, He thinks I’m funny, He shares His heart with me, He shows me the wonders of His creation, He shares in my love of music, and He loves me just the way I am.  I can be completely myself around Him, and that’s what we all desire, right?  To be in a relationship with someone who knows us completely and loves us despite all of our imperfections and flaws. 

This is what Easter reminds me of.  Because of Jesus, I can have this kind of relationship with the God of the universe.  I can be fully known, and fully loved, and even when I am cut off from friends, family, even normal life, God gives my life purpose, meaning, and joy!  It is a relationship that is better than I can describe, and it is available to every one of us.  God wants to have this deep relationship with you today. 

So, I want to ask you: do you have a relationship with God?  Have you accepted Jesus as your friend, but even more than that as the King of your life?  The person who your whole life centers around?  If you haven’t started that relationship yet, you can do that today!  There’s no magic prayer that saves you, you start a relationship with God the same way you start a relationship with anyone, you talk to Him.  Tell Him that you want to live life His way and not your way and that you accept the gift Jesus has given by dying in your place.  And if you want more information on how to build your relationship with God from there, let me know.  Send me a message and we'll talk.

If you do already have a relationship with God, how is that relationship going?  Have you been going to God here lately?  He loves you so much and He wants you to experience the joy of being in His presence.  God wants to build that relationship with you, and all it takes is just being real with Him and talking to Him.  So, I would encourage you to seek Him out and spend time enjoying His amazing love!