Frightened Excitedly

Mark 16: ⁶ But he said to them, “Do not be alarmed. You seek Jesus of Nazareth, who was crucified. He is risen! He is not here. See the place where they laid Him. ⁷ But go, tell His disciples—and Peter—that He is going before you into Galilee; there you will see Him, as He said to you.”

⁸ So they went out quickly and fled from the tomb, for they trembled and were amazed. And they said nothing to anyone, for they were afraid.

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Hearing my name called over the school intercom amongst others was a bit disturbing and intriguing at the same time. I recognized the names so I knew we weren’t in trouble. “You passed the test and got into the high tech high school” the principal said to us. I ran down the hall excited but now a bit disturbed as I had never been to a school this large before.

• Sometimes I get frightened by some exciting news.
• There were times when I heard some great news yet walked away frightened by the next steps.
• Sometimes I hear great things but get nervous about the future of that news.

An angel spoke casually to the two Mary’s. He tried to keep them as calm as possible but the news was just too overwhelming. He told them “You seek JESUS of Nazareth, who was crucified. HE is risen!” This bold statement was too much to comprehend so he tried to show the evidence by telling them to look at the rolled away stone and the empty tomb, but they were too excited and frightened.

• JESUS wants me to know HE is alive and in control of my situation.
• JESUS wants me to “Not be alarmed” but to be excited about HIS daily guidance.
• JESUS wants me to tell many people about HIM rather than focusing on the negatives around me.

Even though the strong military force who was looking for anyone associated with JESUS could find the two Mary’s, that was the least of their concern. They had a flood of emotions that included amazement and fright at the same time. GOD had blessed them with “first response” news that was a huge responsibility to tell. HE does the same with me and it is up to me to respond.

• Are you called by GOD to spread HIS great news?
• Have you gotten frightened by life that you feel paralyzed to speak about JESUS in an excited way?
• Can you get your focus back and begin speaking about CHRIST, who saved you, today?

Anticipation

Mark 15: ⁴² Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, ⁴³ Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. ⁴⁴ Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time. ⁴⁵ So when he found out from the centurion, he granted the body to Joseph. ⁴⁶ Then he bought fine linen, took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen. And he laid Him in a tomb which had been hewn out of the rock, and rolled a stone against the door of the tomb. ⁴⁷ And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses observed where He was laid.

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“Is the mail here?” I asked again. I was waiting to get a prize of a free kite from sending in some huge number of box tops from the cereal I had been eating. One day there was a box with my name on it. I had not received much mail in my life, let alone to have a “box” addressed to me from a company!  I hurried to open my prize and to my delight there was my first kite.

• There were times when I waited on something special to me.
• There were times when I sat and watched for something special to happen.
• There were times when I was filled with anticipation of something good to come.

Waiting on the kingdom of GOD was probably something Joseph of Arimathea had done since childhood. When he saw the miracles of JESUS, he immediately knew he had seen GOD in the flesh. As short lived as it was, he saw what he had been waiting for and wanted to serve this dead GOD one last time, or so he thought.

• JESUS loves when I wait on HIM with faith.
• JESUS loves when I seek HIS return on a daily basis.
• JESUS loves when I spend a little time with HIM each day waiting on HIS direction.

JESUS has promised HE would return someday. In the meantime, HE wants me to serve HIS kingdom on a daily basis. Yes, I want stuff and sometimes I get stuff and sometimes I lose stuff, but the kingdom of GOD is so much more. GOD gives me peace that stuff cannot.

HE walks with me, guiding my creativity so I can honor HIM for what HE has bestowed on me. I wait on HIM daily.

• What are you waiting on?
• Does the thing you are waiting on cause you grief?
• Can you set your anticipation on GOD instead of putting such high credence in the thing you are waiting on today?