Hey friends! We have a busy week this week at Spring Creek. Remember, we have the Maundy Thursday Service, Sonrise Service (remember, the men will feed you breakfast afterwards and I hear they throw down!) and Easter Sunday Service. I hope to see you at one or all the services!
Speaking of Easter. I’ve been thinking a lot about Easter lately—not just the celebration, not just the empty tomb—but what was left inside it. So you know the drill, let’s talk about it.
I have a very dear childhood friend who is a 46 year old mom, wife, teacher and sister in Christ who battled breast cancer. When I say she battled it, she fought it. And she fought it with pure grace and while wearing the armor of God. It was honestly beautiful. I can tell you stories for days that reflect her conviction for the Lord. This week, she had a setback. To be honest, we aren’t sure exactly what that setback is but we know there is something wrong. Could be something. Could be nothing. She physically is not her best and mentally, the stress is wearing on her. You know…fair. But this week, the Lord has shown her over and over and over again to lay down her burdens and to leave it.
When Peter stepped into the tomb, he didn’t just see that Jesus was gone… he saw the grave clothes. Folded. Left behind. (John 20:6–7)
And that detail stopped me. (The details in the Bible are always very intentional)
Because Jesus didn’t walk out of that grave dragging what had once held Him.
He left it there.
Here’s the question I can’t shake this week:
If the tomb is empty… why are we still wearing grave clothes?
I’m talking about the things we carry that God has already called us out of. The guilt from something we’ve already been forgiven for. The labels we picked up in a hard season. The habits we developed just trying to survive. The thoughts that whisper, “This is just who you are.” or “Why me?” Maybe those things made sense at one point. Maybe they even protected you.
But hear me gently— what helped you survive the grave was never meant to define your life outside of it.
In John 11:44, when Lazarus came out of the tomb, Jesus told the people around him, “Take off the grave clothes and let him go.”Even after he was brought back to life… he still needed help removing what had been wrapped around him.
That tells me something important:
Being brought out is one thing. Learning to live free is another.
Some of us are out… but we’re still wearing it.Still wearing shame. Still wearing fear. Still wearing old identities that no longer fit who God says we are.
And maybe it’s not because we want to—maybe it’s just because it’s familiar.
But Hebrews 12:1 reminds us to “throw off everything that hinders and the sin that so easily entangles.” You can’t walk in freedom while holding onto what buried you.
So maybe this week isn’t about striving harder or doing more.Maybe it’s about asking yourself: What am I still wearing that God already told me to leave behind?
And then—one piece at a time—letting it go.
Not perfectly. Not all at once. But intentionally.
Because 2 Corinthians 5:17 says that if anyone is in Christ, they are a new creation. The old is gone, the new is here.
That’s not just a nice idea. That’s truth.
Friend, if God brought you out of it…you don’t have to keep wearing it.
The tomb is empty. And you were never meant to live dressed for it.
Love you all,
Jennifer
