Uncommen: Blind SpotsSample

In Plain Sight

John 20: 1-16

Focus verse: John 20:14, Having said this, she turned around and saw Jesus standing, but she did not know that it was Jesus.

Blind spots come in all variations, and today’s blind spot is grief and loss. My dad passed away three days ago, so I can appreciate how our story begins. Mary is weeping over the loss of her Savior. If you’ve lost someone close to you, then you understand how devastating it can be. Mary is standing outside the tomb, looking into the empty tomb.

Now take a minute to think how you’d feel if, when you went to visit, your loved one who just passed was gone. You and I both would freak out because you know that person was placed in the tomb.

There is no one there to ask what’s going on—just silence. All of your emotions are at full boil about your loved one, and you finally find someone there you can ask. Through your tears, you desperately ask them where they took your Savior—only to overlook the fact that you’re talking to your Savior.

Grief and loss can overwhelm us all to the point of seeing the larger picture during those first few days and weeks. While still difficult, if that person who passed was a believer, they were with Jesus. All their pains and sufferings are over, and they are experiencing complete joy with their Savior.

On this side of heaven, it’s hard to deal with the loss of a loved one.

But, I would go one step further and say that it doesn’t always take the loss of someone close for us to not recognize the Savior. Sometimes, it’s work, family, health, money, news or maybe you’re what I call a “Self Stressor.”

Life is hard and doesn’t need any help from us to make it more difficult. I pray that we all seek the Savior in every situation of our life. Jesus wants us to rely upon Him for everything because only He can bring us peace. They say 93% of what we worry about never comes true. The self-stressor says, “so I still have that 7% right?”

Questions:

Do you struggle alone? Or do you look for Jesus in the storms of life?

Are you going through something right now that you need to turn to the Savior for help?

Challenge:

I challenge us all to keep our focus on Jesus, especially in the difficult times of life.