“Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and lean not on your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him, and He will direct your paths.” – Proverbs 3:5-6

I have a friend named Byron. He talks a lot and he’s kind of silly, but he asks great questions. That’s especially impressive since he’s completely empty-headed. You see, Byron is a puppet.

On Easter morning Hannah Hayden and I shared a puppet show with the congregation as our message for Children’s Church. It was a lot of fun! Byron learned a few things that morning that I thought might be good to share with the entire congregation. Today I will be sharing the first of three lessons Byron learned.

Byron was sad that Easter this year was so different from those in the past. He missed his church, he missed his friends, and he missed the fun of the usual big family get-together.

Byron was scared. With all this uncertainty, he didn’t know what was going to happen next, and that left him feeling uneasy and nervous.

I think many of us can relate to Byron’s feelings. Between job layoffs, health scares, economic uncertainty, and most of all, this overwhelming sense of isolation, it’s hard not to be overcome by anxiety and fear.

That’s when Hannah shared how the disciples felt the same way just before the first Easter. They were friends of Jesus, and they loved Him very much. But now their teacher and best friend, Jesus, had died. Everything was different from how they thought it would be. They were drowning in sorrow, and they were scared. They didn’t know what was going to happen next.

But the disciples didn’t have to feel so defeated, because Jesus had told them this was going to happen – and that it was going to turn out just fine. In Mark 9:30, Jesus said to them, “The Son of Man is going to be betrayed into the hands of men. They will kill him, and after three days he will rise.” But the disciples just didn’t get it.

And the Jewish Scriptures confirmed what Jesus had said, promising that the Messiah wouldn’t stay dead. In Psalm 16:10, the coming Savior says, “You will not abandon my soul to the grave, or let your holy one see corruption.” The disciples could have avoided so much pain and heartache if they had trusted these promises and remembered that even when life gets crazy, God is still in control.

So my friends, put your trust in Christ, not in your circumstances. He is your rock and firm foundation. In Jesus, no matter what happens around you, you will not be moved.

Prayer: Father, thank you for Jesus, our risen Savior and Lord. Thank you for the peace that comes when we put our trust in Him, and when we confidently rely on the fact that You are in control. Amen.

Written By: Pastor Moser