Easter has a different look for all of us this year, in light of the pandemic. But you don’t have to give up hope even in these strange times. I have encouragement here for you today in God’s Word.
If you have landed here from my Encouragement for Today devotion, welcome! There, I tell a story about one Easter from my childhood, when things looked different for the first time. On this post, I want to offer specific hope for this Easter, along with meditation verses to lift you up.
When Hope Has a Different Look
When you can’t go to church, travel as usual, or gather with family on Easter, what will it look like? I’ve been asking myself this question for weeks. The fact is, it’s going to look different this year, but that doesn’t mean it has to be a letdown.
Hope this year will have a very different look. I have to be honest with myself and God, getting the junk out of the way first. Then, I can choose a different kind of hope and rejoice in my circumstances, not necessarily for them.
Be thankful in all circumstances, for this is God’s will for you who belong to Christ Jesus.
1 Thessalonians 5:18 NLT
The fact is, spring is going to look different this year, but that doesn't mean it has to be a letdown. #spring #hope #encouragement Click To Tweet
The First Honest Look
If I paint a cheery pastel swath of denial over the truth, I can’t grieve what’s lost. In recent online sermons, my pastor has been telling us that we all need to grieve the loss of normal. If we paste on a smile and act like everything is OK, we risk becoming bitter. I really will miss the fellowship in the live Good Friday and Easter Sunday services. I will miss our gathering with extended family too.
It’s good, and even healthy, to go ahead and admit that grief to God. Our feelings are not petty or meaningless to him. Everything we feel matters to our Lord, and he wants us to come to him with all our feelings, not just our cheery ones. He will listen patiently and comfort me as I pour out my disappointment to him.
Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about you.
1 Peter 5:7 NLT
If I paint a cheery pastel swath of denial over the truth, I can't grieve what's lost. #hope #encouragement Click To Tweet
The Second Honest Look
Once I’ve gotten that out of the way, if I keep pouting or complaining about the truth I don’t like, I risk missing the joy God has in store for me. As a mom, I’ve had to deal with this dynamic many times when my children didn’t want to hear the word “No.” I would tell them, “You don’t have to like the No. But you can find ways to be thankful anyway.” I need to remind myself of that very dynamic this Easter.
I’ve made up my mind to find things to enjoy about this Easter, going on a joy hunt instead of an egg hunt. I’ll be looking for the small joys he’s already tucked into Easter 2020, which he planned long before I knew this holiday would be altogether changed. By rejoicing in the small blessings this year, joy and thankfulness can replace my negativity and discontent.
And give thanks for everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.
Ephesians 5:20 NLT
I've made up my mind to find things to enjoy about this Easter, going on a joy hunt instead of an egg hunt. #Easter #HolyWeek #pandemic Click To Tweet
Choosing Hope
This Holy Week, we have several days to be honest with God in our prayer lives. You can tell him all about your disappointments, and you can ask him to help you choose hope and joy instead of negativity. Come Easter Sunday, you’ll be thanking and praising him right inside your circumstances.
Though I can’t enjoy corporate worship or extended family gatherings this year, I can enjoy extra quiet time with God, a homemade steak dinner with my family of five, and the warmth of our beautiful home on a day predicted to be grey and wet. No, it’s not a familiar Easter picture to me. But I’m thanking God in advance for the blessings he’s already prepared for me this year, when hope has a different look. That’s what hope looks like: expecting good things instead of focusing on what’s wrong. It will take an intentional stance to choose this hope, but God will empower us to do it.
I pray this post inspires you to be honest with God, focus on what’s good, and hope for what’s ahead.
For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!
Isaiah 64:4 NLT
Thank God in advance for the blessings he's already prepared, when hope has a different look. #thankful #hope #spiritualgrowth Click To Tweet
Christian Meditation Verses to Help You Choose Hope
We all need a different kind of hope this year, and we can hide it in our minds through Christian meditation. I pray that as you meditate upon the verses in the free printable below, God will fill you with his hope, joy and peace. May you be blessed this Holy Week as you read these verses, speak them out loud, and write them out to secure them in your memory. Click on the image or title below to download the free printable.
Christian Meditation Verses to Help You Choose Hope
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Want more encouragement for Holy Week? Enjoy these related posts:
The Breakthrough Power of Fasting for Lent
Monday: Prayer for Holy Week #1
Tuesday: Prayer for Holy Week #2
Wednesday: Prayer for Holy Week #3
Thursday: Prayer for Holy Week #4
Friday: Prayer for Holy Week #5
Hoping for Spring: An Easter Prayer
Thanks for stopping by today! I encourage you to also check out my books and my video/printable guided meditation series. Blessings to you!
When Hope Has a Different Look: Encouragement for when everything looks different from what you had hoped. #christianliving #hope #encouragement Click To Tweet
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