A friend of mine was clearly upset. We were classmates. He was no stranger to life’s troubles, and was also very insightful. It was as if he could perceive the meaning of things on multiple levels at the same time.

He was sitting in a study carol in the library reading his Bible. I came up and asked what the problem was. He replied, “Forgetfulness.” It seemed like a strange thing to say, but I sat down and we chatted about what was going on.

At the end of our talk I wondered what he was going to do next, wanting to ensure it was something positive. He indicated that he was going to keep on reading through the Gospels. He said: “I need the reminder about what is real.”

At that moment his previous comment about “forgetfulness” made sense. His meaning was that in his worry and stress and difficulty it was just too easy to forget the goodness and power of God through all of life’s situations. He was reading through the Gospels to intentionally remind himself—despite what his feelings and frazzled instincts may have been preaching to him—what was actually REAL… about what was true and good and life-giving and hopeful and sure. 

In Romans 8:11, Paul writes: “And if the Spirit of him who raised Jesus from the dead is living in you, he who raised Christ from the dead will also give life to your mortal bodies because of his Spirit who lives in you.”

Quite often, our problem is also forgetfulness. Our feelings and frazzled instincts get the better of us, and we forget that the God who raised Jesus from the dead is also our God!

And his Spirit lives in you.

At Easter we are reminded not only that God’s power was working for his people then, but is working in his people now.

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Notes:

–My latest PODCAST is (connected to today’s devotional) and is called “Graveside dangers, renovation-by-resurrection, and the birthday of God’s new world.” It’s an in-depth look at the well-known resurrection story from Luke 24:1-12. Click here to listen, or look for ‘The Pulse Podcast with Matthew Ruttan’ wherever you subscribe to podcasts: iTunes (Apple), Spotify, Google Podcasts, Stitcher or TuneIn.

–Bible quotes are from the NIV.