Devotions this week are based on Week 7 Temptation to Triumph: Triumph: Death Defeated! (WATCH HERE)
Matthew 28:5 The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified. 6 He is not here; he has risen, just as he said. Come and see the place where he lay.
The angel’s words are simple and powerful. “He is not here; He has risen.” Death had fought its hardest, and it still lost.
The fact that Jesus defeated death is incredible. However, the resurrection is not just about Jesus being alive again. It is about what His coming back to life means for you. Paul writes, (Romans 4:25) “He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification.” Jesus fully dealt with your sin. Your standing with God has been secured.
Death is the great enemy we all face. It shows up not just at the end of life but throughout it. Brokenness, loss, regret, and fear all carry the weight of death. But 1 Corinthians declares that death has been “swallowed up in victory.”
Picture a fire that has burned everything in its path. It looks unstoppable. But then suddenly, it is extinguished. What once consumed everything is now powerless. That is what Jesus has done to death.
This changes how you live today. You are not trying to earn life. You have been given life. Romans says it is a gift. For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in[b] Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23) That means you can live with freedom instead of fear, with hope instead of despair.
Today, when you feel the weight of something that feels like death or are facing the reality of physical death, remind yourself that Jesus has already overcome it. You are living from His victory, not toward it.
Reflect: Where do you feel the weight of death or hopelessness in your life right now? How does knowing Jesus has defeated death change the way you face that situation?
Prayer: Jesus, thank you that you did not stay in the grave. Thank you that your victory over death is my victory too. Help me to live today with the confidence that death does not have the final word in my life. Fill me with your life and your hope. Amen.