Matthew 28:8-10

Matthew 28:8-10

And after going away quickly from the tomb with fear and great joy, they ran to proclaim to His disciples.  And behold!  Jesus met them while saying, “Greetings!”  And the ones who drew near seized His feet and worshipped Him.  At that time, Jesus says to them, “Do not be afraid.  Go.  Tell my brothers in order that they should go away into Galilee.  And there they will see me.”

Thoughts for Today

First Thought:

There is still more that we can learn from these women.  They run to tell the disciples.  The change that Jesus brings to our life is exciting.  We want to tell other people what is happening!  But notice how the women run.  They run with both great joy and fear.  Yes, Jesus is inspirational.  But change is scary.  As we grow in the Lord, He asks us to do bigger and better things.  The possibility of failure increases as we try new things.  These women are afraid because they’ve never been asked to lead in ministry before.  But their fear doesn’t keep them from acting.

When have you done something new for God?  How do you react in situations where the likelihood of failure increases?

Second Thought:

Jesus Himself meets these women along the way.  When we follow Jesus, we know that He will not abandon us.  He will come to us and help us.  He will guide us and direct us.

What does it mean to know that when we are following Him He does not abandon us?  Are you more willing to obey knowing that we will see Jesus in ministry?

Third Thought:

Jesus reiterates the message of the angel.  “Do not be afraid.”  As I said earlier, it is natural for us to experience a little fear when doing something.  But the reality is that we have no reason to fear.  When God calls us to do something, He equips us to do it as well.  Don’t get me wrong.  This doesn’t mean that we will always result in success.  But we will be equipped to accomplish the task.  Whether the people around us respond positively or negatively is up to them.  But we do not need to fear failure.  God will equip us to accomplish the task.  In the end, that’s what we’re going after anyways.  We cannot control the reaction of the people around us.  But we can control whether or not we are obedient.

How do you respond to fear?  How do you respond to encouragement in the midst of your fear?

Passage for Tomorrow: Matthew 28:11-15