Hey guys, today's reading is taken from Matthew chapter 27 verse 61. Mary Magdalene and the other Mary were sitting there outside the tomb. Have you ever heard of Colossus? It's a roller coaster at Thorpe Park in Surrey, south of England.
It was the world's first roller coaster with 10 inversions. I went on it a couple of years ago. It was pretty epic and I enjoyed it. This being said, I came off it with my head spinning and actually a bit of a headache.
Life sometimes feels like a ride on Colossus. A real roller coaster. Up, down, side to side. Up with highlights, down with low lights.
And at the end of a spin on it, you can sometimes be left feeling a bit dazed and off balance. Sometimes those down phases can feel long. Very long. Longer than you would hope them to be.
Any question? Hello? God? Are you there?
Hello? There are many examples in the Bible and today too where God goes quiet and we're left to exercise our faith muscles. The day after Jesus' death seems like it could have been one of those days. Jesus had just died and in today's verse Mary Magdalene and Jesus' mother were sitting there opposite Jesus' tomb, probably feeling pretty despondent.
Perhaps there was an eerie silence around. Was doubt creeping in? Do you think they questioned things? Was Jesus who he said he was?
Did they imagine he could really rise up from the dead? In those difficult, low periods of uncertainty, God reminds us in Deuteronomy chapter 31 that we shouldn't be afraid or terrified because God's with us and he will never leave us nor forsake us. In the stillness, he's there. Even when it doesn't feel like it.
Even when all the evidence points to the contrary. In this case, a dead body behind a stone. Let faith rise up in whatever circumstance that you find yourself. He's still there.
Still for you. And that's not going to change. And remember, if he's for you, nothing can stand against you. Pray with me.
Lord, thank you that despite life's ups and downs, you remind me through your death on the cross that you are for me. You're with me. You remind me in your word that I am never alone. Thank you that you're still there.
In Jesus' name. Amen.