Earlier this week I was reading the story of the resurrection when the Holy Spirit asked me “Do you really believe in my resurrection power?” Instantly, memories and personal situations came to my heart that I have not seen any breakthrough in. Some were more recent things I have been believing for while others have been many many years. I suddenly felt overwhelmed and extremely challenged by this question in light of the seeming magnitude of what I was pressing in for.
His words echoed over and over “Do you really believe in my resurrection power?”. We all have these moments that we wrestle with in the Christian life because we live from a very different set of values to the world and a very different lens. We live FROM heaven towards earth instead of from earth to heaven, and our lives are a journey of learning to see how HE sees, constantly invited into UPGRADING our sight and paradigm. It’s a wrestle because we live in a tension, a good tension between the natural realm and the higher order and reality of the spiritual realm and the revelation of who we are IN CHRIST and our inheritance. This tension beckons us to confront any inferior mindsets with the TRUTH of Gods word and his promises for us.
But what keeps us seeing how He sees? I believe it’s in keeping our eyes on him and not circumstances. Our circumstances scream what hasn’t happened, but His face says “I am GOOD!” And it’s in keeping our gaze upon Him that we override any possible place for disappointment with the expectant HOPE of never-failing character. But I can attest to the fact that I haven’t always done that perfectly and I’ve been often reading the wrong news feed instead of checking into the hot press of his faithfulness.
The disciples heard Jesus say many times over that He was going to raise from the dead yet when He died most of them didn’t believe it! They had walked with, seen him perform incredible miracles, supernatural signs, and wonders, and even raising the dead, yet many lost hope. I can see the same trend in my own life. I have been in meetings where the hundreds came to the altar for salvation, where hundreds were healed and set free, and God spoke destiny into the hearts of the hopeless, yet I’ve gone home and been gripped by fear over one of my own situations that Is in its eleventh hour.
“Do you really believe in my resurrection power?” These words just keep hitting my heart even as I’m writing this because I know this is something He is asking the body of Christ right now. “Do you really believe in my ability to RESTORE what has been robbed and broken? Those relationships, those family issues, those financial problems, those health concerns? Do you believe that my power can resurrect the impossible in your life and bring every forgotten promise to fruition?”
The Greek word for resurrection that Jesus used to speak many times of how he would be raised on the third day is “egeiro” which is also the same word Paul used in Romans 8:11. “Egeiro” means to be “roused, arise, awake, raise up, get out from your bed, and of course raised from the dead”. What we often overlook when we think of the finished work of Jesus is that we inherited his accomplishment as something we get to experience the fruit of. What this means is that Jesus died for us to end the reign of sin, transport us into righteousness, and enable us to live the victorious life of resurrection power! This means that we have the same power of resurrection inside of us through the Holy Spirit and the carry this power everywhere we go!
I believe this Easter God is inviting us into a fresh encounter with His goodness and resurrection power to see every broken area restored, every impossible and hopeless situation turned around, and every dry bone and dead dream inside us RAISED back to life. Will you surrender your fears to Him today? The questions, the disappointment, the track record of unfulfilled promises? As you have read this has the Holy Spirit brought to the surface areas you have doubted in His power and promises?
Release them to Him and declare this Easter “Thank you Jesus for your finished work in my life, that you didn’t just die for me so I could live righteously but you have imparted to me the ability to see the awakening, dead-raising, life-transforming, and restorative power of the Spirit at work in my life every day! I choose today to shake off my past disappointments and doubts and “get out of my bed” so I can experience EVERYTHING you provided for me through Jesus”!”
We are praying you have an amazing Easter!