Easter is Always Here

Easter Is Always Here
By Bonnie St. John
This week's topic: Resurrection


“Indeed the LORD gave Job twice as much as he had before.” (Job 42:10 KJV)

What if you looked up one day from a busy week of work with overtime and unexpected deadlines and suddenly realized that Easter happened a week ago and you missed it? You would think, How could that happen? Wasn’t I paying attention?


I have never actually forgotten Easter, but I have gone through times in my life that were so difficult and painful, I seemed to miss a whole season. When my mother died just before New Year’s Day, I entered a dense fog of grief mixed with the ensuing financial tasks and the cloud didn’t seem to lift until mid-summer. When did spring happen? I wondered.

If you have ever been through a divorce, lost a job, suffered a major illness, or been forced to move from the community you love, you may have also been through a period of agony that felt like it would never end. The recession in 2009 has affected almost everyone in one way or another, causing many people to feel stuck in a permanent winter.

Yet, whether we experience it or not, Spring does arrive every year promising rebirth in bright green buds on trees, colorful tulips, and warmer, gentler winds. God reminds us with the seasons every year that He can bring life from the dead of winter. So, too, can He bring life to us no matter how many seasons we have felt deadened and no matter how long we have been deaf to the call of Easter.

During Easter week, we celebrate the resurrection of Jesus from death into everlasting life. Jesus who lived as the perfect example of love and kindness, suffered and was nailed to a cross so that our sins would be forgiven. After three days and three nights, the Father called Jesus back into life and He was able to return to the Father’s side.

God’s love also calls us to our own resurrection from anguish and affliction. Like Job who is described in the Old Testament as the epitome of misery, your winter may last for years and encompass unimaginable losses. Job lost not only his livelihood and property, he also lost his wife, his children, and his health. Yet, he continued believing in God’s promise. And His faith was rewarded with even more than restoration: “the LORD blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning; for he had fourteen thousand sheep, six thousand camels, one thousand yoke of oxen, and one thousand female donkeys. He also had seven sons and three daughters. (Job 42:12-13 KJV)

When springtime finally came for Job, everything was returned to him tenfold. (get verse)

Life from death is the message of Easter: Jesus’ sacrifice of blood gives us everlasting life. If you are not hearing the call of spring, if you are not feeling the joy of Easter, perhaps you have not fully accepted the gift of God’s mercy and forgiveness through Jesus.

Sometimes we are the hardest on ourselves…much harder than God would be. If you have lost a job, have you forgiven yourself, forgiven your employer, and moved on? If you lost a house, are you able to let go and see what God has next for you?

God’s gift of mercy is available to us 365 days per year. If you listen carefully enough, you will not only hear Easter calling in springtime, but every day of every year. Whether your personal resurrection has arrived yet or not, don’t miss Easter. Take His mercy into your heart and live every day knowing that your life will be redeemed. Easter is always here. Your spring will come.

Scripture Of The Day: "For as the Father raises the dead and gives life to them, even so the Son gives life to whom He will." - John 5:21


Bonnie St. John is a professional speaker and Olympic medalist, who has appeared on the Today Show, CNN, the 700 Club, and Life Today. The author of How Strong Women Pray and Live Your Joy, Bonnie St. John is committed to reaching out to the world with a message of triumph over circumstance. For more information about Bonnie, log onto http://www.bonniestjohn.com