John 20:8 Expectant

Then the disciple who had reached the tomb first also went in, and he saw and believed— (John 20:8 NLT)

Observation:

Based on Mary's information that the tomb is empty, John and Peter run to the tomb. It says in chapter 20, that John was faster than Peter in running.  I think that is funny since it is John that wrote the book. Was this a one upper? Hmm, don't know :)

Anyway, John looks in the tomb and believes that Christ has risen. John is the only one at this point. Everyone else has to see Jesus to believe. So it begs the question of why was John the only one?

It could have to do with John's age. He was the youngest of disciples and hadn't been tainted not to believe in miracles. Although all of the disciples had witnessed lots of miracles, including raising Lazarus from the dead, surely Christ conquering His own death didn't seem like that far of a stretch after watching Lazarus raised. Or it could have to do with watching Jesus be paraded in front of a mock trial, tortured, then crucified, and seeing Jesus never fight back but take it all. Whatever the reason, John believed the minute he saw the empty tomb.

Application:

John was prepared to witness a miracle, he was expectant. My heart is convicted at the lack of expectancy that I have. What if every time I walked in somewhere I looked for and expected to see God do something amazing. I think the results would be daily excitement and motivation, and an overflow of God's love and grace in my life for others. So what stops me from being expectant? Negativity. Thankfulness is a catalyst for an expectant heart and negativity is catalyst for a depressed and unmotivated One. I desire to live in a constant attitude of gratitude; to develop a habit of thankfulness. I will take steps today in making intentional time to say thankYou.

Prayer:

Father, thank You for Your word and how it enlightens the soul. Thank You for the birds chirping and the hum of the air conditioner. Thank You for electricity and a roof over our heads. Thank You that I get to be a wife and a mama. Thank You that I am Yours and no one and nothing can take me away from You. Thank You for hearing my prayers. Thank You for Your continued faithfulness and grace in my life. I love You!