Text: Luke 24:1-12
“Now when he rose early on the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, from whom he had cast out seven demons.” —Mark 16:9
“You do not move ahead by constantly looking in a rear-view mirror. The past is a rudder to guide you, not an anchor to drag you. We must learn from the past but not live in the past,” wrote Dr. Warren W. Wiersbe.
We should learn from the past, but God never lets our past dictate our future. Jesus healed people whose lives were broken from the inside out, and Mary Magdalene was one of them. She was a woman whose inner demons had her tormented and incapable of living in meaningful and healthy relationships. Though her prison bars were invisible, she was no stranger to solitary confinement of the soul. Jesus didn’t just deliver her from one or two demons, but seven!
This formerly disgraced and stigmatized woman had her life radically changed when she encountered Jesus. Her story reminds us that God often uses people with a troubled past to boldly declare His wonders to others.
Mary followed Jesus faithfully from Galilee to Jerusalem. Her bravery is seen in her presence at Jesus’ crucifixion, while most of the men were fleeing to avoid arrest. She may have been scared, grieved, and heartbroken, but she was there, risking it all in her devotion to Christ. Then she was the first to visit the tomb on Resurrection morning, and the first person to whom Jesus revealed himself after the resurrection. God used Mary to go and proclaim to others that Jesus was indeed alive.
Mary Magdalene showed up, had staying power, and proclaimed that the powers of darkness had been defeated. She gives credence to Paul’s words in 2 Corinthians 5:17 that, if anyone is in Christ, that person is a new creation. The old has passed away; behold, the new has come.
Similarly, your past never intimidates Jesus. So don’t let it define you or dictate your future. In Christ, you are a new creation. And when God decided to save you, He didn’t ask for anyone else’s opinion. Let that embolden your decision to show up in God’s great big mission, to live in the power of the Holy Spirit, and to proclaim in word and deed that Jesus is alive, and that light always overcomes the darkness.
PRAYER
Heavenly Father, thank you for saving me… despite me. Thank you for loving me when I was unlovable. By the power of the Holy Spirit and the truth that transforms, help me to never let the past dictate my confidence and hope in the future. In Jesus’ name I pray, Amen.
Questions for Personal Reflection or Group Discussion:
- When have your personal “demons” crippled you? What were the lies they spoke over you?
- What is the Good News about Mary Magdalene’s story? How does that Good News speak to your present trials?
- In what ways has your past been trying to hijack your future?
- Is there a sin, a struggle, or an oppressive spirit that has taken you captive that warrants Jesus’ deliverance today?
- To whom is God calling you to proclaim His Gospel, to testify that light indeed overcomes the darkness?
