THE UPPER ROOM 1ST APRIL 2024 DEVOTIONAL, MONDAY MESSAGE
TOPIC: Go Anyway
TODAY’S READING
Mark 16:1-8
KEY VERSE: Trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding. – Proverbs 3:5 (NIV)
As I was reading through the story of Christ’s resurrection in Mark 16, something caught my eye. Mary Magdalene, Mary, the mother of James, and Salome were on their way to the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body. Verse three makes it clear that they didn’t know who would move the stone away from the tomb’s entrance so that they could perform their task. And yet these women went anyway, and they were the first people to learn of the glorious news of Christ’s resurrection. What a privilege!
I thought about all the times I have felt God leading me to do something, only to hesitate, convincing myself that I wouldn’t succeed because of some obstacle I could not overcome on my own. How often have I left things undone due to my hesitation? How many blessings have I missed by not stepping forward in faith and trusting God to provide the help I need?
Years ago, when I was leaving my hometown for a job with a ministry in another state, friends gave me a plaque that reads, “The will of God will never lead you where the grace of God cannot keep you.” I pray that I may keep those words and the example of the women in Mark’s Gospel in mind when I feel God’s leading in the future and that despite any uncertainty I may feel, I will go anyway.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Heavenly Father, help me depend on your guidance rather than my own understanding. Amen.
THOUGHT FOR THE DAY
I will trust God and step forward in faith.
PRAYER FOCUS
For the faith to trust God’s provision
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More From Lisa Stackpole
The Upper Room is a daily devotional magazine published in more than 30 languages and 100 countries around the world. The daily meditations are written by readers of the magazine and others interested in sharing their faith experiences through writing—both laity and clergy, published authors and new writers. The meditations are stories of real people working to live faithfully with the Bible as their touchstone. Every day, readers of The Upper Room around the world read the same story in many different languages and pray the same prayer together.