When God Shows Up

I am fascinated with the women of the Bible. I love reading the stories about their lives and find myself so grateful to God that He included these women in the Scriptures. Some of the women we read about are wonderful, living godly, righteous lives, but other women we read about have lived very hard, difficult lives. I often put myself in their shoes, wondering what their lives must have looked like, along with the mindsets and perspectives of these women.

Each Easter season, as we approach this Holy Week, my mind goes to one particular woman who had an unbelievable encounter with God. She was the first person to see the resurrected Jesus, and her name was Mary Magdalene.

In every account of the gospels (Matthew, Mark, Luke and John), there was a group of women that followed Jesus wherever He went, tending to many of His needs. Mary Magdalene was part of that group of women.

We don’t know much about Mary Magdalene, except that she had lived a troubled life. Mark 16:9 (NIV) tells us of her dark past life: “He (Jesus) first appeared to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had driven seven demons.”

That is all the details we know of Mary Magdalen’s life. We do not know if she was married or had children. All we know from scriptures is that she was once possessed by seven demons. She obviously had lived a hard life ~ you don’t just wake up one day and find yourself possessed by seven demons!

But at some point in her life, (the Bible doesn’t tell us how this happened) she encountered Jesus.He delivered her from her torment, he set her free, and she began to follow Him wholeheartedly.  

Mary Magdalene was so grateful to Jesus for setting her free from her bondage that she committed to loving and following Him for the rest of her days. But imagine her heartbreak as she watched Jesus be crucified.  The One who had forever changed her life, the One who had delivered her from a very dark past, the One with whom she had committed her life to.

So, it is not surprising for us to read that after Jesus’ crucifixion and burial, we find Mary Magdalene at His tomb: “Early on the first day of the week, while it was still dark, Mary Magdalene went to the tomb and saw that the stone had been removed from the entrance.” (John 20: 1-2 NIV)

After Mary Magdalene told the disciples about the empty tomb (thinking someone had taken Jesus’ body), the disciples went to look for themselves, but after seeing the empty tomb for themselves, they went back to their homes. (John 20: 2-10). But verse 11 tells us: “but Mary stood outside the tomb crying.”

She was heartbroken. The One who had changed her life was gone.

Then the resurrected Jesus appeared to her, calling her by name (verse 16).

God (through Jesus) showed up in Mary’s life just when she thought all hope for her was lost. And just when we think all hope is lost in our own lives, Jesus still shows up for us too!

But there are a few things Mary Magdalene did that we can take note of to ensure how we can see God showing up in our lives too:

(1) Mary was willing to do what no one else wanted to do.

Don’t you think it should have been Jesus’ disciples going to the tomb early that morning? Shouldn’t it have been those disciples bringing the ointments to anoint His body? But it wasn’t. It was Mary. Through her own disappointment and heartache, she walked to the tomb willing to do what no one else wanted to do, and because of that, Jesus chose to show up to her first.

There will be opportunities in your life also that no one else will want to take. Whether that’s in your workplace, your marriage, your family, etc.  be willing to do the hard things and watch God show up for you!

(2)Mary rose up while it was still dark.

John 20:1 tells us: “Early in the morning…..while it was still dark”

I am certain that Mary Magdalene did not feel joyful, hopeful or full of faith early that morning. All her hopes and dreams had died. But she got up anyway, while it was still dark (both literally and figuratively) and because of her action, Jesus showed up!

Darkness in your life will not last forever! Daybreak is coming!

In the natural world, daybreak comes little by little. The early morning gets brighter and brighter. And so it is in the spiritual world… a new season comes little by little.

Your life’s circumstances will not stay dark forever…keep getting up…keep showing up…DAYBREAK OF A NEW SEASON IS COMING!

(3)Mary never forgot what Jesus did for her.

Mary Magdalene stayed close to the One who had changed her life!

Throughout the gospels, wherever Jesus was, scriptures tells us so were the disciples and Mary Magdalene. Mary was forever indebted to Jesus because He had set her free from a lifetime of darkness.

Likewise, carrying a heart of gratitude and thankfulness for all that God has done in our lives will keep us close to Jesus too.

God showed up BIG to Mary Magdalene and He will show up BIG in your life too, if you are willing to do what no one else is willing to do, rise up while it’s still dark in your life, and forever carry a heart of thankfulness for all that God has done for you!

Let’s celebrate this Easter week with a heart filled with gratitude for our resurrected Jesus!