Stress Test Devotional May 4
May 04, 2024
JOHN 20:19-22 | When it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and the doors of the house where the
disciples had met were locked for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you.” After he said this, he showed them his hands and his side. Then the
disciples rejoiced when they saw the Lord. Jesus said to them again, “Peace be with you. As the Father has sent me, so I send you.” When he had said this, he breathed on them and said to them, “Receive the Holy Spirit.”
These reassurances did not withstand the trauma of the arrest, trial and cross. The disciples were terrified into hiding and intimidated into betrayal. Their loss made the promises of Jesus seem ineffectual and unreal.
But his resurrection changed this completely. Suddenly his teachings and his promises were validated. His suffering made sense. His humiliation was part of God’s redemptive plan. His presence was not lost but recovered and then made permanent through the gift of his Spirit.
Remember if you have a period where you struggle to believe, it does not invalidate the promises. Faith can be recovered. The peace Jesus gave in the upper room was given again, in the same place, by the Resurrected Lord.
Have you ever had to recover your faith?
