The reality of Christ’s triumph over sin and death changed the disciples’ lives forever and can transfigure any situation we face.

Do you ever find it difficult to believe? In the midst of painful circumstances, is it sometimes challenging to trust that your situation can ever be better or that something good can come from it?

Even the disciples who walked with Jesus were completely devastated after the crucifixion. The Savior had told them repeatedly, “The Son of Man must suffer many things and be rejected by the elders and the chief priests and the scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again” (Mark 8:31). Yet they doubted. They simply could not see past their human perceptions or expectations to claim His promises.

The disciples were brokenhearted and despondent. They felt absolutely helpless. Deep within their hearts, they believed it was all over. They had seen Jesus suffer and die on the cross with their own eyes. From their perspective, all of their hopes and dreams had been irrevocably dashed. Why? John 20:9 tells us, “As yet they did not understand the Scripture, that He must rise again from the dead.”

How often do you and I get caught up in the same attitude of defeat? We’re overwhelmed by our circumstances because we’re focused on our limited comprehension of them instead of the Father’s awesome purposes. Yet if we could see past our imperfect understanding to our extraordinary Redeemer, we would be filled with joy. Our lives would be radically transformed—just as the disciples were after the resurrection.

Nothing—not even death—can separate us from God once we accept Christ as our Savior.

We would do well to remember the life-changing truths the disciples learned after Jesus rose from the grave. The reality of Christ’s triumph over sin and death changed their lives forever and can transfigure any situation we face—filling it with hope.

So what did they discover?

First, they realized that God always succeeds in carrying out His plans. Jesus promised to pay for our transgressions and deliver us from the penalty of death—and that is exactly what He did (Luke 24:46-48). There was no power on earth that could divert Him from achieving His goal … not the Sanhedrin, nor even the great Roman army.

The same is true in your life. Regardless of what you face or how your situation currently appears, the Lord is greater. He has conquered the grave and can overcome any problem you encounter. Therefore, continue walking in the center of His will. He is certain to keep all of His promises to you.

Second, the disciples learned that nothing—not even death—can separate us from God once we trust Christ as our Savior (Rom. 8:31-39). Although the disciples thought they had lost Jesus through the crucifixion, the resurrection showed them they would never be divided from Him again.

Likewise, we have been reconciled to the Father forever. This means we always have Him with us—guiding, teaching, and providing for us. No matter how lonely or helpless we may feel, the fact is, we are never alone or powerless. The Lord God Almighty, our Comforter and Defender, will never leave, fail, or forsake us.

Third, the disciples discovered that in the grand scope of things, any adversity we experience is temporary because Jesus has given us eternal life. Although they knew they would face resistance and persecution as they preached the gospel, the disciples understood the Father would ultimately deliver them—whether on earth or by taking them to their home in heaven (1 Pet. 4:12-19). Their futures were absolutely secure because they were in God’s loving and capable hands.

He has conquered the grave and can overcome any problem you encounter.

Again, you have the same assurance. You may feel as if your situation is impossible to overcome. It may appear unending, and you may be weary and disheartened. But don’t give up hope. Cling to the promise that God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him. Keep seeking Him, and He will deliver you from the trials you’re enduring.

Now I ask you to look deep within your heart and be completely honest with yourself and with the Father. Do you have doubts? Are you finding it difficult to believe in the Lord because of the troubles you’re experiencing? Is it challenging to trust that your situation can ever be better or that something good can come from it?

You can experience victory if you will apply these three important principles to your life. The Lord will succeed in carrying out His plans and keep all of His promises to you. Nothing—not even death—can separate you from the Father, so you will never be alone or helpless. And no matter what happens to you—it is only temporary. Eventually, God will set you free from the problems you face.

Keep reminding yourself of these triumphant truths from the resurrection because that is the way to true and lasting victory—today and every day. May our risen Savior remind you of these certainties and encourage your heart deeply, abundantly, and with never-ending joy.

Resurrection

1 Corinthians 15:3-22

Throughout the past week, Christians around the world have contemplated Jesus’ final steps as He made His way to the cross. His humiliation and suffering have broken our hearts, but just beneath the surface lay the expectation of what we knew was coming: He is risen!

The resurrection was the Savior’s destiny—but so was the cross. Jesus came as the Lamb of God to take away the sin of the world (John 1:29). But did you know that the cross is also God’s ordained destiny for believers? It’s the only way to deal with sin. When Jesus died at Calvary, He bore the punishment for our sins so that everyone who believes in Him can be forgiven and declared “Not Guilty!” From God’s judicial standpoint, we have already been crucified with Christ because the penalty for our sin has been paid. However, salvation doesn’t remove our old sinful thought patterns and desires.

What Christ did in removing the penalty of sin, we must each do personally to overcome the power of sin in our lives. But the cross is the last place we want to go. It not only brings pain, but the road leads through Gethsemane, where we have to say to God, “Not My will, but Yours be done” (Luke 22:42).

Though we long to overcome sin in our life, many of us are unwilling to do what’s required. Yet if we try to avoid the cross, we’ll miss the abundant life God wants to give us. Instead of living in consistent triumph over temptation, we will be on a roller coaster of ups and downs. Each time we fail, we’ll try harder, but there is no way to improve or reform our sinful tendencies. They have to be put to death.

The cross is not the end point. God’s goal is that we “walk in newness of life” (Rom. 6:4). Once we nail those old fleshly cravings to the cross, they’ll start to lose their appeal, and our hearts will begin to find delight in obeying the Lord. Just as Christ was raised from the dead, we, too, will find vibrant life and victory beyond our Golgotha.

Ask yourself these questions: What is at the center of my life? What drives me and gives me a sense of purpose? Does anything other than the Holy Spirit have control over me? What am I unwilling to surrender to the Lord? If anything or anyone in your life has priority over Christ, it’s idolatry. Whatever you are holding onto or whatever is holding onto you needs to be taken to the cross. A new life of freedom and power is waiting on the other side of the grave.

—Charles F. Stanley

 Mark 15:16-39

We often hear the phrase “the crux of the matter” or “the crux of a situation.” The word crux comes from Medieval Latin, and simply means “cross.” Why has the word crux come to be associated with a critical juncture or point in time? Because the cross of Christ is truly the crux of history. Without the cross, history itself cannot be defined or corrected.

There is another word we often hear when we are in the throes of indescribable pain: the word excruciating. That, too, derives from the Latin and means “out of the cross.” Through time and human experience, the historical event of the cross intersects time and space and speaks to the deepest hurts of the human heart.

But we live with more than pain and suffering. We also live with deep hungers within the human heart, such as the hunger for truth, for justice, forgiveness, and peace. As I see it, there is only one place in the world where these hungers converge: It is in the cross of Christ, where perfect peace and perfect justice became united in one death on a Friday afternoon.

The cross defines what love’s entailments are. You see, in Christian terms, love does not stand merely as an emotion or even as an expression to just be reconciled to God. In a relationship with God, love ultimately flowers into worship. All earthly relationships as we know them will someday end. It is in worship alone that wonder and truth coalesce, prefiguring the consummation of eternal communion. That enrichment from worship feeds all other relationships and helps us to hold sacred all of life’s needed commitments.

Never has it been more obvious that this world needs redemption—and that redemption is costly. The cross more than ever, in our language and in our longings, is necessary to bridge the divide between God and us and between ourselves. Without the cross, the chasm that separates us all from truth, love, justice, and forgiveness can never be bridged. The depths of mystery and love found in the cross can never be fully plumbed, but it must be the lifelong pursuit of the Christian to marvel at its costliness and to celebrate its meaning.

That is why we celebrate Easter. The cross stands as the defining counter-perspective to everything this world has to offer. As you observe this Holy Week, may you be moved to wonder and worship.

—Ravi Zacharias