Sometimes when we look back on difficulties, the blessing of hindsight enables us to see just why it is that God took us on an unexpected journey that was more difficult and less obvious than the main road.

But sometimes it’s only when God’s word specifically explains a situation that it’s possible to know why God did what he did.

When God brought his people out of slavery in Egypt, the most obvious way for them to travel on their exit route was to take the main road that was easiest and shortest.

Yet, God had other plans for his people, and so instead he took them a more difficult route, which if they didn’t know better, might have been interpreted as being a sign of God’s lack of love or wisdom.

However the Bible tells us exactly what God was thinking, for we read in Exodus:

When Pharaoh finally let the people go, God did not lead them along the main road that runs through Philistine territory, even though that was the shortest route to the Promised Land. God said, “If the people are faced with a battle, they might change their minds and return to Egypt.” (Exodus 13:17)

God didn’t take them the obvious way, but instead they went through the wilderness so that they might avoid a confrontation with another enemy which might then lead them to return back to where they were slaves in Egypt.

We might not know why it is that the Lord is taking us on a longer and harder journey than normal, but we do know that the Lord disciplines his children (Hebrews 12:7) and that everything works together for the good of God’s people (Romans 8:28).

The Lord might take us on the longer, harder path, but wherever he leads us, we know he’s good and that he loves us.

JODIE McNEILL

The empty tomb of Easter Sunday is the greatest miracle of history, for at that moment it was clear that Jesus’ mission to conquer death was a complete success.

If he remained dead then everything he promised was false, and his death on the cross was a tragic waste.

But now that he’s alive it means that when a person trusts in Jesus as their loving ruler, then he promises to forgive their sins and give them the certainty of eternal life.

Nonetheless, even though Jesus told his closest friends that he was going to come back to life after he died, they still found it hard to believe him.

There are many examples of when Jesus’ friends had serious doubts, and it wasn’t really until the coming of the Holy Spirit at Pentecost that they really ‘got it.’

But after that, they couldn’t keep quiet, because they knew that Jesus really did rise, and that because he’s risen, there is now a certain hope for the future.

This Easter is the perfect time for you to personally reflect on whether you have this iron-clad assurance about your future.

There is nothing certain about your future unless you trust in Jesus, because unless you know him and have been forgiven by him, then you face judgement.

Why would you take the judgement from God that you deserve, when Jesus has offered to take it from you… and has proven his success with the empty tomb?

This Easter, come to Jesus, say ‘sorry’ for rejecting him, and simply ask to follow him… and his resurrection will be your resurrection, too… for his empty grave will be your guarantee for the future.

Your future awaits you… if you come to the one who conquered death.

JODIE McNEILL

For many Christians, Good Friday is a day on which the death of Jesus is remembered and experienced as if it was his funeral.

It was certainly a tragic day when the creator was killed by the creation he came to save.

Plus, when we realise that our sin caused his sacrifice, then we feel remorse for our rebellion that led him to the cross.

Yet Jesus said something on the night before he died that should make us pause and reflect upon our emotions on Good Friday.

Jesus said to his disciples:

So you have sorrow now, but I will see you again; then you will rejoice, and no one can rob you of that joy. (John 16:22)

When Jesus was to appear to those disciples in the days after his resurrection, they would rejoice, and nothing would stop their joy.

To make the point, Jesus likened their emotions to that of a brand new mother:

It will be like a woman suffering the pains of labor. When her child is born, her anguish gives way to joy because she has brought a new baby into the world. (John 16:21)

After the birth, all that matters is the joy of the new baby.

Likewise, after the pain of Good Friday, all that matters is the joy of Easter Sunday.

We who live as people of the risen Lord are right to continue to remember the joy of the resurrection, even as we stop to reflect on the sacrifice of his death.

For though it was the darkest day, all we now see is the light of life, even as we rightly feel remorse for our sins that brought him to the cross.

JODIE McNEILL