Tuesday, April 22’s devotional. The women expected death. They came armed with spices, ready to anoint a corpse. But when they arrived, everything they thought they knew was shaken. Luke tells us, “They found the stone rolled away from the tomb. They went in but did not find the body of the Lord Jesus” (Luke 24:2-3, CSB). Their plans to honour the dead collapsed into confusion. God had moved first—and the world would never be the same.
Mark invites us into their shock: “Can you imagine their confusion that the stone had been moved and the body had been removed?” Every reasonable assumption—grave robbers, Pharisees, soldiers—flashed through their minds. But the truth was greater than anything they could have guessed. God’s ways often overturn our assumptions, not to confuse us, but to astonish us with His faithfulness.
In a moment of terror, the women encountered the messengers of heaven. Luke writes, “While they were perplexed about this, suddenly two men stood by them in dazzling clothes. So the women were terrified and bowed down to the ground” (Luke 24:4-5a, CSB). Mark explains, “The two men have clothes which dazzle, signifying an angelic, or heavenly, presence.” God had not abandoned them. He had sent heralds of life to meet them in their fear.
Sometimes God interrupts our well-laid plans with disruptions that terrify us. We want predictability; He offers resurrection. We cling to what is dead; He calls us into what is living. Mark reminds us, “Shock as God shakes their expectations with an empty tomb and an angelic message.” We should not be surprised when God’s fulfillment comes in ways we never imagined.
The question presses in: when God interrupts your plans, are you willing to be surprised by Him? Isaiah declares, “For my thoughts are not your thoughts, and your ways are not my ways. This is the Lord’s declaration” (Isaiah 55:8, CSB). Our expectations are small. His promises are bigger.
Lord God, shake us from the smallness of our plans. Help us trust You when You overturn our expectations. Open our hearts to the astonishing ways You fulfill Your promises. Amen.
This devotional content is not penned by the preacher. It is derived from the sermon notes. We aim to provide bite-sized reflections throughout the week for devotion and reflection.