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#LAFruits Reflection – Our Hearts Desire (John 20) by @0rode

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Our Hearts Desire…

TEXT: “But Mary stood outside by the tomb weeping, and as she wept she stooped down and looked into the tomb.” John 20:11 (NKJV)

‘What ifs’ annoy me. So, most of the time when I get that ‘sense’ to act on something, I trust it and it always work out. So I became curious about Mary Magdalene’s decision in John 20:11 to go inside the tomb and look.

What made her look again? After all Simon Peter and John confirmed that the tomb was empty. They had stayed less than 30 minutes it seems, and went home. They did not seek to enquire of Pilate or summon the other disciples about the empty tomb. They were perplexed and left, surely if there was more to their actions John would have said, it is his narrative.

What if Mary Magdalene went home too? Would you?

When we are distressed, well if you are like me, you can enter into a deep and constant 1-2-1 with spirit – asking, seeking, listening, and waiting. And, if our heart’s desire is in alignment with the will of God, and God’s desire for us, this desire will manifest and our actions will glorify God.

What was Mary praying as she wept? What do you do when a situation seems beyond your control?

When we are at an extreme or heightened emotional state, we are our most honest ‘self’. Whether it is the grief of Mary’s or even when angry, our actions will betray our heart’s true nature.

I believe Mary Magdalene desired to see Jesus. Was she thinking about the resurrection Jesus prophesised? Who knows! Perhaps, her determination meant she was going to take the cloths to demand answers, notice how she addressed the angels and Jesus. But her decision to re-enter the tomb shows that she had resolved in her heart and will to see Jesus, and through that she was strengthened and God revealed himself to her.

Think about it.

She had risen very early, and was the first one there. She did not wait for a friend or Jesus’s mother, or a disciple (according to John’s account). She had purposed in her heart to do right by Jesus, in terms of burial rites. Even after Simon Peter and John had left ,she built up the confidence to do everything to locate Jesus’ body. She was so locked in on Jesus, no wonder he told her not to cling to him…

How persistently are you seeking Him?

Be convicted! We need to have that same zeal, which will bring the supernatural into the natural world to reveal God’s glorious works.

You don’t have to be ‘important’ for God to use you to reveal His greatest works to the world; you just have to have a heart that clings to Him.

Orode