Two Traps

Read: John 20

"When she had said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing there, and did not know that it was Jesus." John 20:14-15

Examine:

There is some debate as to why Mary did not recognize Jesus. All anyone can really do is speculate. Regardless of why she did not recognize Him, this much I do know. Mary thought Jesus was still dead. She did not expect to find Him alive.

Application:

My expectations have a huge impact on my experience of Christ working in my life. There are two traps I see from this passage that I need to avoid in my life. The first is the trap of wrong expectations. Mary thought Jesus was dead. That was the box she created for Jesus and it made seeing Him difficult. In the same way, the boxes I create for Jesus can limit my ability to experience the fullness of His work going on around me. It can also cause me to miss out on the work He desires to do inside of me. I must constantly take my view of Christ back to the scripture and know for certain that I have pure expectations of Him.

The second trap is the lack of expectations. Mary did not have any expectations of Jesus. He had become to her a good man who was now dead. Allowing myself to develop expectations regarding Christ means that I open up part of my heart and give Him my hope. That sets me up for disappointment if the thing does not work out like I planned. In all honesty, my fear of being let down sometimes tempts me to dumb down my expectations. I pray without even really being sure if my prayers matter. I must strive to ground myself in the word of God and allow my prayers to reflect a man who is sold out and absolute in his faith.

Prayer:

I sense a strong reminder of how little movement I expect of You on a daily basis. I believe in You. I pray to You. I serve You and I give offerings to You. But what do I expect of You? If I were to examine the choices I make on a daily basis they really do not reflect the life of a man who really believes that all things are possible for those who believe. I ask that You forgive my lack of faith in You.

Holy Spirit, You are here to lead me and instruct me. I ask that You open the eyes of my heart and allow the magnitude of Jesus' Name to stretch my expectations. Create inside of me an intense desire to be centered in the will of the Father and cultivate in me a growing expectation of what is possible with Christ. Lead me to the wisdom I need to take bold steps of faith that will lead to a releasing of God's glory in my life.