God Moves Stones

“Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.  And they said among themselves, ‘Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?’” Mark 16:3

Father, I pray for the Deeper Still team and participants to have faith like Mary and Mary.  I pray they would just go in faith trusting you to roll away the heavy stones.  In Jesus’ Name, Amen.

 

At the Deeper Still Team Meeting last week, Karen Ellison taught from this scripture in Mark 16. 

Jesus had been in the tomb three days.  Mary Magdalene and Mary, the mother of Jesus, set out early in the morning heading toward the tomb to anoint Jesus’ body with spices.  On the way, they were talking among themselves and wondered, “Oh yeah, there is this big boulder in the way, I wonder how we are going to roll it away.”

What I love is that they kept going. They had everything they needed and they went on in faith that somehow the stone would be rolled away. 

Participants come to the Deeper Still retreats, not with their spices, but with their suitcases, clothes, makeup, and other things they need for the weekend.  Physically prepared perhaps, but one thing they may not know is how the stone will be rolled away.  

 

“But when they looked up, they saw that the stone had been rolled away—for it was very large.” (V. 4)

The stone was very large.  Most likely the stone was too heavy for the ladies to move on their own.  It took faith for them to press on to their destination. 

The abortion-wounded participants come with a very large stone that seems too monstrous to move.  Many fear that they will come and nothing will happen.  However, God knows how to move a stone. 

It is not only the participants that must come in faith believing for God to move stones, the Deeper Still team members must also go in faith believing that no stone is too big for our God. 

Deeper Still team members come prepared, also not with spices, but in the power of prayer.   Peppered in prayer, the team members are going in faith, knowing they cannot roll away the stone on their own.  The stone is way too heavy to move.  There is only One who can move the stone.

  

Huge stones are nothing for our God.  One word from our Divine Creator and stones are smashed into pieces, hearts are changed, and captives are freed.

 

We just need to come, the participants and the team, in faith.   We go in faith even when we don’t know the how. 

And on Sunday morning, we too, like the mother of Jesus and Mary Magdalene, look up and see the stone rolled away and we are in awe—for it is always very large.  God is able to move the stone.