After Jesus willingly gave His life on the cross for everyone in the world (even the unborn), He did not just leave an empty tomb as proof that He had risen. He chose to once again demonstrate His love for us by presenting “Himself to them [believers] and gave many convincing proofs that he was alive. He appeared to them over a period of forty days and spoke about the kingdom of God” (Acts 1:3 NIV). Jesus did not want to leave His followers wondering what happened once they saw that His tomb was empty. He wanted to convince them that He indeed had risen. His resurrection served as proof of His finished work on the cross for the justification [freedom from guilt and the penalty of sin] of all who choose to believe in Him!

Two thousand years later, we can live in that freedom because we believe in Jesus’ resurrection.

I think Jesus stayed on earth so long after His death because He wanted to make sure that those who believed in Him had not lost hope. Some may have lost hope because Jesus did not become the reigning King of Israel as they had envisioned Him. Others may have believed the Pharisees’ account of grave robbers having come to steal the body and lost hope that Jesus was really their Messiah. Isn’t that how we find ourselves sometimes–expecting Him to do something in a certain way and then losing hope when He doesn’t do it our way?

But because of His love for those believers (and us), Jesus wanted to assure them that He indeed had risen, so He patiently took time to show Himself to over 500 people (1 Corinthians 15:6). In doing so, He made sure the message of His resurrection would span the globe and stand the test of time so that generations to come could choose to believe and have hope in Him.

If you’ve lost hope for something in your life, maybe for having a baby, or advancing on your job, or overcoming a debilitating illness, RESURRECT your hope! Bring your hope back to life by finding a promise of God in the Bible that relates to your situation. Believe that promise is true for you. If you find it hard to believe, ask God to help you believe it (Mark 9:24). Then speak that promise and expect it to manifest in your life. Be persistent in speaking that promise…your enemy, the devil, will do all he can to distract you from believing and speaking it with confidence. Despite that, continue to thank God that His promise for you is sure and worthy of your trust. Rest assured, your hope will be renewed and your confidence increased as you take a stand on the promises of God.

Discover more about taking a confident stand on the promises of God in my upcoming book, Live to Win! 

Coming soon through major booksellers.

Photo of cross courtesy of FreeDigitalPnotos.net