"Then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written: 'Death is swallowed up in victory.' 'O Death, where is your sting? O Hades, where is your victory?'”
October 24, 2020
A little brother and sister were with their mother in the garden. As the children were playing, a large bumblebee came up and stung the little boy. He began to cry and jumped up in his mother’s arms. The bee buzzed around their heads, and the little girl was frightened to death.
Soon the little boy had his tears dried, and the mother said to her, “Sweetheart, you don’t have to be afraid of that bee.”
“But he stung brother.”
“Yes, but come over here and look.”
And there was the stinger the mother had pulled out. She said, “See there? He left his stinger in brother; and because brother was stung, you can’t be stung, because that bee has lost his stinger. He'll never sting anyone else again.”
The Lord Jesus Christ took the sting of sin for me and for you. Death may buzz around, he may frighten you, but friend, the sting is gone because Jesus rose from the dead. “Oh, death, where is your sting? Oh, grave, where is your victory?”
The old bee called “Death” may buzz around you, but it can’t hurt you anymore. Jesus has taken the pain out of parting, the dread out of dying, the gloom out of the grave, and has given us a hope that is steadfast and sure. I’m coming up out of that grave. We have the promise of a resurrected body: “But thanks be to God, who gives us the victory through our Lord Jesus Christ” (1 Corinthians 15:57).
I try to unplug each morning with Jesus with just my rocking chair, my Bible, and a pen.
Having a secret place is very important because I know that Jesus is always there waiting for me. I know where I can find Him! His presence is everywhere, but there are places where it is so thick you can cut it with a knife. You may not even have a front porch, but there is a secret place for you as well. God’s invitations are for anyone who will respond. There is no more important request than the one found in Psalm 27:8: “My heart has heard You say, ‘Come and talk with Me.’ And my heart responds, ‘Lord, I am coming.’”