When You Don't Have 4-Wheel Drive

Daily Reading:  Mark 16

And he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He has risen; he is not here. See the place where they laid him." (Mark 16.6)

Devotional Thought:  Driving home one icy evening, I made it all the way to my neighborhood.  I rounded the curve at the bottom of a little valley right before my house, but I couldn’t negotiate it with sufficient speed to make it up the next hill.  I tried several times, but to no avail.  My poor little truck spent the night at the bottom of the valley, getting covered with snow and ice. 

But, the next morning brought sun and warmth to melt away the ice!  People leaving the neighborhood later in the morning did not see my truck.  It wasn't there!  They could tell, however, where it had spent the night.  There were tracks leading to and from the place.  But the truck was gone!  It had risen!

And that, my friend, in just a small way, illustrates the truth of Mark 16.  The ladies went to the tomb where they expected death to have covered the body of Jesus with its cold icy grip.  But when they arrived there, Jesus was gone!  They could see the place where he laid, but he was not there!  He had risen!  Now they were able to go and tell of the greatest miracle of all history!  He’s alive!

In what valley are you trapped?  Are you or someone you know stuck in the valley of sorrow?  The valley of sickness?  The valley of depression?  The valley of want?  The valley of addiction?  Don’t be alarmed.  Jesus is there to deliver you.  He will take you by the hand and with his resurrection power deliver your soul from the valley!  One warm ray at a time, the Son will melt away those icy prison bars.  One step at a time you will rise.

Prayer: I worship you today, Lord Jesus, for you are the resurrected Savior.  Forgive me, O Lord, when I forget that you have conquered death, when I think my icy bars are greater than the warmth of the Son.  Amen.

Psalm of the Day: 9.13-20

13 Be gracious to me, O LORD! See my affliction from those who hate me, O you who lift me up from the gates of death,

14 that I may recount all your praises, that in the gates of the daughter of Zion I may rejoice in your salvation.

15 The nations have sunk in the pit that they made; in the net that they hid, their own foot has been caught.

16 The LORD has made himself known; he has executed judgment; the wicked are snared in the work of their own hands. Higgaion. Selah

17 The wicked shall return to Sheol, all the nations that forget God.

18 For the needy shall not always be forgotten, and the hope of the poor shall not perish forever.

19 Arise, O LORD! Let not man prevail; let the nations be judged before you!

20 Put them in fear, O LORD! Let the nations know that they are but men! Selah