Easter People: A 4-Day Easter DevotionalSample

THE DISCIPLES | Right In The Middle

No one likes the middle. Why? Because in the middle we feel stuck. It’s true in an airplane seat and it’s also true in any given situation. The beginning is exciting, and the ending is a celebration. It's the middle where you get bogged down. In the middle, you feel like you’re equally far from where you started out, but you’re also just as far from the ending. In the middle is when it's most tempting to give up. In the middle is when our fears can also overtake us. Today we're going to look at Jesus' closest friends and the impact the Resurrection had on them. One of the scariest things Jesus' disciples ever went through was, of course, the storm on the Sea of Galilee. The boat was in the middle of the sea being tossed around by the waves and the wind. It was in the middle that they really began to lose heart. It was in the middle when they lost focus. It was in the middle when they thought they were going to die; when they thought they were going to drown. Yet it was in the middle where Jesus showed up. And what was the outcome?  

• The disciples were calmed by His presence. They came in afraid, nervous, hunched over. And they went out triumphant, they went out bold, they went out comforted because they had been with Jesus. 
• The disciples were calmed by His words. The circumstances didn't change. They were still very much in danger, but as He opened his mouth He spoke the words “My peace, I give to you” and His words washed over them. 
• The disciples were calmed by His wounds. By showing them His wounds He was proving to them He was actually risen, that He was who He said was, that He did what He said He’d do and that He could be trusted. 
• The disciples were calmed by His spirit. Jesus didn't just speak peace as He sent them -- He breathed on them, and He filled them with his power.

Just like Jesus showed up in the middle when the disciples were on the sea and He calmed them, I believe that He wants to calm you too. Right in the middle of what you are facing, of what we are going through, that’s where Jesus wants to show up for you.