MONTHLY MEMORY VERSE

“For the wages of sin is death, but the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord.” Romans 6:23 NIV

DEVOTIONAL: LET DOWN by XP3

Have you ever worked and planned really hard for something, and then at the last minute, everything changed? For example, maybe you worked for months on this project at work, and at the last minute, your boss decided to go another direction, and you found yourself asking, “Now what?” Or maybe you were given a diagnosis you didn’t expect and your found yourself asking, “Now what?” Or maybe you found out that your parents decided to divorce after 25 years of marriage, and you found yourself asking the same question, “Now what?” We all have faced “now what” situations, and thankfully God has an answer for us when we ask that question.

Read: John 20:11-16

In this passage Mary is face to face with Jesus, and she doesn’t see Him. She is so caught up in her pain, so consumed with her disappointment, that she can’t see Jesus right in front of her. And Jesus isn’t frustrated or disappointed. No, He just says her name: “Mary.” She turned toward him and cried out in Aramaic, “Rabboni!” (which means “Teacher”)

This is such an awesome moment in the passage. Mary is standing there in the middle of perhaps the worst “now what” moment in history, and Jesus Himself shows up. But what is also awesome is that the same is true for us. When we face our “now what” moments, God will always offer us Jesus as an answer to “Now what?” So what can we do to make sure we recognize Jesus in our situation? We can:

• Talk to Him
• Look for Him
• Trust Him

So what about you? Are you in a bad situation? Do you feel stuck? Are you out of options? Are you disappointed? The good news is God has an answer. And His name is Jesus. Let that encourage you today as you face your “Now what” situation.

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