Day 38 | April 14

As a young child, I experienced boredom while shopping with my mother (most likely because we were not looking at something for me). I was passing time running back and forth between my mother and grandmother – until I wandered off. When my mother discovered I was not with my grandmother, she began frantically looking up and down the aisles and in the middle of the clothing racks, but I was not in any of the places my worried mother expected me to be. Instead, she found me sitting at the escalator landing, waving at shoppers.

Like my mother, the ladies in Mark 16 found themselves worried when Jesus was not where they expected Him to be. They fretted all the way to the tomb fearing the stone would separate them from Jesus. Instead, they found He was not where they expected Him to be. Jesus had better things to do than wait around at an empty tomb!

Despite their alarm and fear that Jesus was not where they expected, these ladies received an invitation to find Jesus elsewhere. Even though they were stunned, afraid, and not quite sure how to respond to this unexpected circumstance, they recognized that even in times of fear and doubt Jesus was to be trusted. So, they went where Jesus was.

We too expect Jesus to be in certain places – doing what we think He should do. And while we have the promise of the Holy Spirit to be with us (John 14:16), we can often overlook the invitation to go where Jesus is. To look for the spaces and places in our lives where He has moved ahead and is already working – calling us to join Him.

Maybe you find yourself frustrated because Jesus is not showing up. Or He is showing up, but not in the ways you expected. As we prepare to celebrate the resurrection, let us receive the invitation to join Jesus where HE is. Even in those moments when we are stunned, afraid, and not quite sure how to respond, let us look for Jesus where He is.