Reflections on Holy Week
A devotional by Wendy Wilson Spooner
The angel said to the women, “Do not be afraid, for I know that you are looking for Jesus, who was crucified.”– Matthew 28:5 (NIV)
Holy Week has become my favorite week of the year, right up there with Christmas.
This year, I have searched, pondered, and prayed to understand more of our Savior (Jesus Christ)’s life, message, and miraculous atonement.
I have long loved the fact that women were the first to hear the good news and to tell everyone that Jesus had risen! I am not a feminist. I revere good men just as I revere good women, and my life has been blessed as I’ve been surrounded by truly great men of God.
So, during my Holy Week journey, I asked myself, Am I like the two women named Mary who loved Jesus Christ and were dear friends of the Son of God? Am I His dear friend too? What does that mean?
Then on Good Friday, I went to that place of utter sorrow and anguish of what it must have been like for Mary, the mother of Jesus, to watch her son die on the Cross while people continued to mock and harm Him. I don’t think I could have taken what she did. I probably would have died right along with Him (died of a broken heart).
After much contemplation about my life, and the women who surrounded Jesus, my thoughts at the conclusion of Holy Week came to this…
It has been decades since I was a lost teenager, following the ways of the world. I was unhappy, broken, reduced to feeling like nothing, believing I was alone. Since those years, I have been steadily rising, climbing, slipping backward at times, but always ascending with my heart and mind set on our Savior, trying to become more like Him in a world intent on dragging us down into misery of life without Christ as our Lord and Savior.
Yet, we have hope because Jesus died to save us! But He didn’t stay dead, in three days He rose again and He still lives! Now, when God sees us, He sees His Son and He remembers Christ paid the penalty for our sins. All we have to do is repent of our sins, turn away from our sins and follow Jesus all the way to Heaven.
We also have hope in knowing that we are not a lost cause. Yes, we are imperfect humans but there’s grace for that because God’s mercies are new every morning (Lamentations 3:22-23). And God is patient with us! The Bible says in Philippians 1:6 (TLB), “God who began the good work within you will keep right on helping you grow in his grace until his task within you is finally finished on that day when Jesus Christ returns.”
I have hope in knowing that despite all of my imperfection, Jesus Christ considers me and everyone who follows Him, a very dear friend (John 15:15)!
I live each day to testify of Christ’s personal effect on my life as a sinner. I was a lost soul found by Jesus. I was a drifter in this fallen world but then I was changed into becoming a believer in God and a follower of Jesus Christ. Thanks to Christ’s sacrifice on that Cross, I am reconciled to God (2 Corinthians 5:18) and will meet Him one day then live with Him forever!
As a daughter known to God, my soul is at peace as I have come to this conclusion. I fear not as I seek Jesus, just as the women at the tomb were told by the angel (Luke 24:1-10).
It is well with my soul! Listen to this beautiful hymn and remember, God loves you!
Let’s Pray: Dear God, help us to remember what You have taught us—we are never alone. Help us to realize that in our trials, it can be well with our souls if we lean on You. Most of all, help us to freely and faithfully share this good news as we continue our journey through life with You by our side. In Jesus’s Name I pray. Amen.
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Author Bio:
Wendy is a Genetic Genealogist by day, a writer by night, and an artist in between.
Wendy is a Genetic Genealogist by day, a writer by night, and an artist in between.
Wendy writes about family, faith, grief, art, and overcoming obstacles in life by coming to know who we really are—the children of God, and the descendants of incredible people who paved the way for us—even if they really struggled. Wendy believes in learning from our ancestors, honoring them, and then standing on their shoulders to become a better generation.
As an award-winning family history writer, Wendy’s debut novel, Once Upon an Irish Summer, released in April 2020. This book is a dual timeline historical fiction novel about a young, gifted artist suffering from debilitating grief, who finds healing and inspiration in her Irish ancestry, and goes on to paint a masterpiece.
The sequel, Celtic Winter: Eliza’s Story, released in November 2021. The storyline goes back in time to the little sister left behind in Ireland to keep her family alive, woven with present-day Beth’s continuing story as she races the clock with the young man she loves to find the only person who could save his mother’s life.
When Wendy is not researching or writing, she hikes, paints, loves being a church youth leader, binges on epic Bollywood movies, and hangs out with her greatest loves—her family.
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Connect with Wendy:
Website: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/
Blog: https://wendywilsonspooner.com/blog
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/authorWendyWilsonSpooner/
Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/wendyspooner/
Twitter: https://twitter.com/Wendy_W_Spooner
Very encouraging to be reminded of how women were the first ones to testify about the resurrection.
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