The Easter miracle is the cornerstone of Christian faith. More than 2,000 years ago, God sent Jesus Christ to die for our sins so that we might live. Think about that for a second: God loved us so much He was willing to sacrifice His only son for our ransom. Our salvation didn’t come cheap; we were bought with the most expensive blood.
This holiday is so much more than chocolate bunnies, egg hunts, and a feast with family. It’s a time to meditate on the One true hope that saved us. No matter what you’re facing today, remember these promises that the Resurrection of Jesus Christ made possible. We hope that they, too, will give you the hope to rise up and conquer.
1. You are forgiven.
“He was delivered over to death for our sins and was raised to life for our justification”
(Romans 4:25, NIV).
God’s pardon-granting blood covers any sin. Yes, any sin. We often lie to ourselves that we must change ourselves first before we come to God, but God didn’t wait for us to get it right before He sent Jesus to the cross. What’s more? Jesus was a man. He was touched by the same struggles that we are, and yet He didn’t sin. The problem is we let our sin separate us from His grace, but that’s what it’s there for. No sin is too great for a God who is greater.
2. You are a new creation.
“Therefore, if anyone is in Christ, the new creation has come: The old has gone, the new is here”
(2 Corinthians 5:17, NIV).
As Christ was resurrected, those who believe in Him also are resurrected as new creations. Need some holy proof? Look at the apostle Paul. The same man who persecuted Christians as Saul is the same man who wrote half of the New Testament as Paul. He was so transformed by Christ that even His name had to be changed. Your starting point will not be your ending point once you let Christ come in and take over.
3. You have access to Resurrection power.
“By his power God raised the Lord from the dead, and he will raise us also”
(1 Corinthians 6:14, NIV).
This is a big one that a lot of people miss: The same power that got Jesus out of the grave lives INSIDE of you. What an empowering truth! When Jesus rose from the dead and left Earth, He gave us access through His Holy Spirit. Jesus conquered death, hell, and the grave — that means you can conquer whatever has been holding you down through His resurrecting power.
4. You are loved.
“I have been crucified with Christ and I no longer live, but Christ lives in me. The life I now live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave himself for me”
(Galatians 2:20, NIV).
The heartbreaking image of Jesus slowly dying on a cross because He said we’re worth it shows us something pivotal: Love is a bloody sacrifice. Sacrifice doesn’t come from a place of overflow; it comes from a place of “only.” Jesus was God’s only son, and Jesus understood that He was our only hope. He had our faces in mind and said, “I’ll gladly wear a crown of thorns for them.” It was the most unbelievable love offering God could give, and He did it because He is madly in love with us.
5. Your hope is real.
“Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In his great mercy he has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead”
(1 Peter 1:3, NIV).
On the third day after Jesus’ crucifixion, the tomb where His body laid was empty. The grave could not hold Him! This is good news, friends. Jesus overcame death and proved the Resurrection was real, changing the trajectory of history forever. Our hope is not dead; it is alive and well. We can rest in the comfort of knowing we serve a living God who has made Himself available enough to solve all of our living, breathing problems.
6. You are not alone.
“For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord”
(Romans 8:38-39, NIV).
Our sin separated us from God, but He had a plan to get us back: Jesus. Jesus’ death was the exchange for our new life with God. With Christ in our hearts, we are able to fellowship with God unceasingly and have the privilege to walk side by side with Him even on this side of heaven. That means you are never truly alone, no matter how alone you might feel. Call on God in your times of trouble and celebrate with Him in your moments of victory. He is much closer than you think.
7. You have victory over death.
“Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. The one who believes in me will live, even though they die; and whoever lives by believing in me will never die. Do you believe this?”
(John 11:25-26, NIV).
As believers, the Resurrection gave us this one last promise we can spend our lives clinging to: We, too, will have victory over death. Once our earthly bodies perish, our spirits will rise up to heaven and awaken to an eternal existence with God. Did you get that? The miracle of Easter will also manifest in our lives. Realizing that this life isn’t all there is, we have so much ahead of us. This is just part of our story.
