“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3 ESV

I listen to three things each Easter morning:

• Sandi Patty’s Morning Like This album
• “Happy Easter” from Easter Parade (Dad and I make up lyrics as we sing it together over the phone. . . great before-church tradition with an unknown origin.)
• Sandi Patty’s single “They Could Not”

The lyrics to “They Could Not” get to me every time I hear them. I love when words of a song strike me after listening to them for many years.

And each year, I’m blown away by what happened on Easter.

Because it’s so simple, and yet so miraculous that our minds can’t immediately comprehend the greatness of what took place.

Jesus died.

Jesus was buried.

Jesus rose from the dead.

Those who sought to crucify Jesus thought they won.

And Jesus’ followers thought their battle was lost.

Even though Jesus told His disciples multiple times that He had to die and would rise three days later (Matthew 16:21; 17:22; 20:17), they didn’t understand and couldn’t see past the predicted suffering to the victory on the third day.

Even though Jesus’ death and resurrection was foretold in Isaiah 52:13-53:12, His followers couldn’t rationalize Jesus’ death and resurrection, and so they couldn’t understand God’s plan.

And yet, God followed through with His plan anyway.

Even though Isaiah prophesied it, and Jesus himself foretold it, and HIs followers still didn’t fully believe. . . He did it anyway.

Because God can’t fail.

They could not understand, but they could not stop God’s plan.

May we always be grateful that God doesn’t cancel His plans when we can’t understand what He’s doing.

So, how can we prepare ourselves to keep our focus on the fulfillment of God’s plan during a potentially hurried Easter weekend?

• Prepare before Sunday morning by reading, listening, praying, and reflecting
• If you’re gathering with family and friends, consider why you’re gathering and what you’re celebrating.
• Worship while you prepare: turn up the worship music!
• To those who will be serving on Easter Sunday morning: breathe, and don’t be so overwhelmed with the details that you miss the celebration.

He is Risen indeed!

Check out the song: “They Could Not”

Questions: How are you preparing for Easter today, not just in your home, but in your heart?

“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! According to his great mercy, he has caused us to be born again to a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead.” 1 Peter 1:3 ESV