How to Live With Loss: the Hope of the Resurrection

It is 4 am. The sun is not up yet but I am. The birds are chirping their love songs already. I can imagine Mary not being able to sleep, walking slowly to the tomb where her best friend, Jesus, was buried. Who is your best friend? Your spouse? Your friend from high school or college? Your mom? How would you feel if they died unexpectedly?

My dad died last year and I know how it feels. Jack was a kind & gentle spirit who loved Jesus and could recite 1 Cor 13 by heart. His passing was quite a shock and a loss to our family. I rejoice knowing he is in heaven, playing golf and dancing with the angels. Perhaps you, too, have suffered a loss.

So it must have been with Mary, when she saw the stone had been rolled away. As she crept into the burial place and saw the empty tomb, she was shocked.

"Where is my, Lord?" she cried out in fear. Do we not all do the same when pain, loss, and tragedy strike our lives? "Where is God in all this?"

Jesus's answer is the same today as it was two thousand years ago.

"I am not here. I have risen."

Jesus conquered the grave. He healed the sick, made the blind to see and the deaf to hear. He cast out demons and performed many miracles. He is still in the miracle-working business today because He is alive!

What miracle would you like to see in your life? What dream or hope have you given up on? As the angel said to Mary, "Fear not" only believe and you will see miracles happen. The choice always remains with us.  Will we be like Thomas or like Mary? Will we walk in fear or faith over our circumstances?

When we walk with Jesus, we don't have to carry our cross alone. As my youngest son recently reminded me of the two sets of footprints that became one in the sand. When we go thru our darkest nights of the soul, as we all do and as Jesus did on Holy Friday, God is merciful. When we don't know where the road ahead leads and we are at our weakest, Jesus carries us.

"But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles, they shall run and not be weary, and they shall walk and not faint." (Isaiah 40:31).

The walk with Jesus is not always the easy path. The journey to faith is paved with potholes. Yet it always leads us to higher ground. If we are willing to believe, we, too, can conquer our fears, doubts and unbelief, because He lives!

No matter what lies in front of us, we can trust that God has a plan and a purpose for it. No matter how many times we stumble and fall under the weight of our cross, or like Peter, fail and doubt, God is always there to pick us up, dust us off, and place us on solid ground.

As you celebrate this glorious day, whatever your beliefs, I encourage you to give Jesus a try. Jesus, like Coca-Cola, is the real thing. Every other path is a detour. As he revealed himself to Mary, He will reveal himself to you and you, too, will rise up with wings like eagles and soar!

Whatever your dream, follow it! Whatever your passion, live it. Whatever you dream, believe in it!
Enjoy this inspirational performance of the Wales boys choir.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=AARrVAHnkdY

Stay tuned for more practical and positive wisdom to help you ignite the power within and discover YOUR DESTINY!

Happy Resurrection and as always, keep looking up!

Ariel Paz