The Hope of New Life
Across the billboard of creation, God writes the message in large clear letters: Death comes first, but then comes new life through the glorious resurrection!

Could we experience the vibrant beauty of the dawn, if we never went through the long and lonely night? Could we rejoice in the sweet fragrant blossoms of spring, if we never went through the cold and barren winter? Could we delight in tender green shoots sprouting up from the ground, if we never planted the hard kernels of seed deep in the damp, dark earth? Could we find joy in a butterfly if the caterpillar never hid itself away in the darkness inside a cold, hard shell?

Jesus was able to face the agony of the cross because He knew that after death, according to God’s perfect plan, comes new life. He was able to walk the road to Calvary, seemingly having accomplished nothing, because of the power and glory the resurrection would bring to humanity forevermore.

Is there something that is dying in your life? Are you watching your dreams being dashed to the ground and trampled underfoot? Do you have a broken heart? God wants to reassure you today that He loves you! He is weeping with you in the pain of your suffering. Jesus wept when Lazarus died. Yet Jesus also knew the only way Lazarus could experience the miraculous resurrection was through the process of dying first. That is why Jesus tarried when they pleaded for Him to come help His friend. That could be why Jesus is waiting to answer your prayers today.

Don’t despair! Look all around you at the blueprint of creation. Death comes first, but then comes new life through the glorious resurrection! Put your hope in God. He will touch your situation with the very same miraculous power that raised Jesus Christ from the dead!