Glancing at Easter weekend on the calendar always brought a level of excitement as a pastor’s wife and momma. It was my favorite weekend of the year, in fact.
For school teachers like me, Good Friday meant an extra day off to celebrate April family birthdays celebrations. The long weekend also gave us a nice long visit from the grandkids. That always included egg hunts, baskets of goodies, and having everyone together for Resurrection Sunday service.
But in 2020, things changed. Looking at the calendar brought different feelings. We didn’t know what to expect from one day to the next.
Good Friday ended up as just another day of exhaustion for many, and one more day running into the next for tired moms at home with all the kids. It meant anxiety for stressed out students and solitude for elderly or fragile family members.
It was the first time I could ever remember lacking the excitement I’d always had for Easter weekend.
How the Change of Seasons Affects Our Peace
When life seasons change and what we’ve looked forward to comes to a screeching halt, it can mess with our peace. Uncertainty, worry, and grief over things lost crash in on us, and it’s hard to move forward with a smile on our faces.
We’re told we need to “pull ourselves up” and move on. We’re taught to embrace change. And that may be good advice, but we will continue struggling if we try to do those things without first inviting Jesus into our grief over what has changed, and asking for his peace to replenish us.
What Jesus Taught the Disciples About Peace
The disciples understood facing an uncertain future as Jesus tried to prepare them for His leaving. They didn’t know what to expect in the next moment, much less the next hour or the next day. They wanted answers and feared the worst, confused by their own anxious thoughts.
Sound familiar? In many ways, we can relate to what the disciples experienced as they listened to Jesus’ words. In the midst of their confusion, Jesus offered them something beyond what this world could ever provide. He gave them the gift of His peace.
Jesus knew how hard it would be for the disciples to witness what was about to happen to him. The days ahead would test everything He ever taught about the love of the Father. So He spoke this gift into being right before evil set its sinister plan into motion.
Jesus said,
Yet even in the horrific acts that followed, the disciples watched how Jesus remained peace-filled while enduring unfathomable hurt, betrayal, and pain.
Jesus taught an invaluable lesson that day. Not just for the disciples, but for each one of us today. His peace is the only way forward, even in painful times of change.
He was about to face His most difficult time on earth, and He spoke about peace. So why do we, as believers, live stressed out, worried, and panicked lives? By looking at Jesus’ words, we can discover how the same peace that carried Jesus through the cross will carry us through our hardest days.
Since that vastly different season a few years ago, changes keep on coming.
Even though I try to embrace the change and focus on the good, I still fight against fear of the unknown. If this Easter weekend is bringing more dread than excitement in your world, and more doubt than expectancy, take heart my friend in the faith. Jesus prepared the way for us. He has given us the peace that surpasses human understanding.
Find comfort in His gift as you allow your heart to be refilled with His peace today. This year or this season may not look the same as it has in the past, but the truth of what Easter means for us remains the same. Faith. Hope. Peace.
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