When you cannot recognize what God is doing, listen closely—He may already be calling your name.
📖 Scripture Reading
John 20:11–18
The stone had been rolled away. The tomb was empty. Jesus’ body was gone.
But Mary Magdalene was not celebrating.
She was standing outside the tomb weeping.
This is one of the most beautiful and deeply personal scenes in the resurrection story because Mary came looking for a dead Jesus—but she encountered the living Christ.
She did not recognize Him at first.
And perhaps that is where this story becomes strangely familiar.
Have you ever been so overwhelmed by grief, disappointment, fear, confusion, or unanswered questions that you could not recognize what God was doing right in front of you?
Mary did not know where Jesus was.
But Jesus knew exactly where Mary was.
And more importantly, Jesus knew her name.
🌅 When Grief Makes It Difficult to See
Mary Magdalene loved Jesus deeply.
She had experienced His compassion and grace. She was a committed follower who had been transformed by Him. Yet now, everything seemed to have fallen apart. The One she loved had been crucified, and now even His body appeared to be missing.
Imagine standing beside an empty tomb, your beloved Lord gone, and having no idea what happened.
Mary’s mind must have been filled with questions.
Where is Jesus?
Who took Him?
Why would they do this?
Where have they put Him?
She stooped down and looked inside the tomb. There she saw two angels dressed in white, one sitting where Jesus’ head had been and the other where His feet had rested.
They asked her:
“Dear woman, why are you crying?” — John 20:13
Mary answered simply:
“Because they have taken away my Lord, and I don’t know where they have put him.” — John 20:13
What an honest answer.
Mary was not pretending to be strong.
She did not have a carefully prepared theological explanation.
She simply told them what was in her heart.
“I don’t know.”
And sometimes, that is exactly where our relationship with God begins again.
😢 When You Don’t Understand What God Is Doing
Mary had forgotten—or did not yet understand—the promise that Jesus would rise again.
She was looking at her circumstances rather than God’s promise.
Isn’t that something we sometimes do?
When life suddenly becomes painful, we may see only the empty tomb.
We see the unanswered prayer.
The closed door.
The financial problem.
The broken relationship.
The diagnosis.
The disappointment.
The opportunity that disappeared.
The dream that did not happen.
And we ask:
“Lord, where are You?”
But what if the very place where we think God has disappeared is actually the place where He is about to reveal Himself?
Mary thought someone had taken Jesus away.
She did not realize that Jesus had risen.
Her tears were real, but her understanding was incomplete.
That distinction is important.
What we see is not always the whole story.
🌿 Then Jesus Was Standing Right There
Mary turned around and saw someone standing nearby.
It was Jesus.
But she didn’t recognize Him.
Jesus asked:
“Dear woman, why are you crying? Who are you looking for?” — John 20:15
Mary assumed He was the gardener.
Perhaps she thought He might have moved Jesus’ body somewhere else. So, she pleaded with Him:
If He had taken Jesus away, please tell her where He had put Him, and she would go and get Him.
Mary was still searching for Jesus.
But she was standing in the presence of Jesus.
Think about that for a moment.
She was asking where Jesus was while Jesus was already standing in front of her.
That scene reaches beyond Mary’s story.
There may be moments in our own lives when we are desperately asking,
“Lord, where are You?”
while He is gently working around us.
We may not recognize His presence because our grief is louder than our faith.
Our fear is louder than His promises.
Our circumstances are louder than His Word.
But Jesus has not moved.
❤️ One Word Changed Everything: “Mary!”
Then came the turning point.
Jesus said one word:
“Mary!” — John 20:16
And suddenly, everything changed.
She recognized Him.
Rabboni!
“Teacher!”
The One she thought was the gardener was actually her risen Lord.
The One she was searching for was the One standing before her.
The One she thought was lost had found her.
What a moment!
I can almost imagine Mary’s tears changing from tears of despair into tears of overwhelming joy.
The tomb was still empty.
The circumstances had not changed merely because she looked again.
But Mary’s understanding had changed.
She finally realized:
Jesus was alive.
🔥 Jesus Knows Your Name
There is something deeply comforting about Jesus calling Mary by name.
He did not say, “Follower.”
He did not say, “Woman number one.”
He said:
“Mary.”
He knew her personally.
And Jesus knows us personally too.
We are not merely faces in a crowd.
We are not forgotten.
We are not invisible to Him.
He knows our joys, our failures, our questions, our wounds, our struggles, our hopes, and even the things we cannot put into words.
Sometimes we desperately want a sign from God.
We want Him to reveal the entire plan.
We want Him to explain why something happened.
We want Him to show us what tomorrow will look like.
But sometimes what we need most is not an explanation.
We need to recognize the One who is already with us.
Corrie ten Boom is often remembered for this beautiful reminder:
“Never be afraid to trust an unknown future to a known God.” — Corrie ten Boom
Mary did not know the future.
But she came to know the risen Christ.
And that was enough.
✋ “Do Not Cling to Me”
Mary’s joy was so overwhelming that she apparently wanted to hold on to Jesus.
Jesus responded:
“Don’t cling to me.” — John 20:17
At first, these words may sound surprising.
Why would Jesus tell Mary not to cling to Him?
There are several theological discussions surrounding this passage, and we should be careful not to claim more than Scripture tells us.
What John clearly records, however, is that Jesus immediately redirected Mary’s attention toward a mission:
Go and tell His brothers.
Jesus was alive.
Mary had encountered the risen Lord.
And now she had something to announce.
Her encounter was not meant to end with herself.
She was sent to testify.
Jesus also spoke about ascending to His Father and referred to His disciples as His brothers. He spoke of “my Father and your Father” and “my God and your God.” This points beautifully to the relationship believers have with God through Christ. John had already written that those who receive Christ are given the right to become children of God (John 1:12).
Mary came to the tomb looking for a body.
She left carrying a message.
📣 From “Where Is Jesus?” to “I Have Seen the Lord!”
Mary ran to the disciples.
And what did she tell them?
“I have seen the Lord!” — John 20:18
What a transformation!
A few moments earlier:
“I don’t know where they have put Him.”
Now:
“I have seen the Lord!”
Her sorrow had become testimony.
Her confusion had become certainty.
Her searching had become proclamation.
Her encounter with Jesus gave her something she could not keep to herself.
And this is one of the great lessons of the passage:
When you encounter Jesus, your life becomes a testimony of what He has done.
🕊️ My Story: When I Finally Recognized the Lord
Mary’s story reminds me of a season in my own life.
There was a time when I was, in a sense, hibernating from the Lord.
I was going with the flow of the world. I thought I was doing fine. I thought I was following God’s ways, but as I look back now, I realize that I did not yet know God’s ways deeply because I had not truly immersed myself in His Word.
I had not yet read the whole Bible.
Because I did not know God’s Word well, it was easy for me to conform to the world’s ways without even realizing how far I was drifting.
I thought I was free.
I thought life was fun.
I thought I could find my own direction.
But something inside me kept whispering:
“Something is not right.”
I kept moving from one lane of life to another, trying different directions, looking for fulfillment, stability, and peace.
Then life became topsy-turvy.
Emotional struggles came.
Financial instability came.
My mind became confused.
Spiritually, I became distant.
Outwardly, I continued moving.
But inwardly, something in me was crying.
Until one day, my heart finally screamed for Jesus.
There was no loud voice coming from my mouth.
But my heart was crying:
“Lord, help me.”
And I now understand something I did not understand before.
God was not lost. I was.
He had not abandoned me.
He was drawing me back.
He was allowing circumstances to awaken me from my spiritual sleep and turn my heart toward Him.
I thought I was searching for God.
But in reality, God had already been searching for me.
And when I finally surrendered my life to Him and submitted myself to His will, something changed.
I began to recognize my Lord and Savior—not physically, as Mary did, but spiritually.
I received the Holy Spirit, who comes from the Father, and I experienced a fulfillment that the world could never give me.
It was as though my heart finally came home.
🌱 I Still Struggle—But I No Longer Walk Alone
My story did not suddenly become perfect.
I still live in an earthly body.
I still encounter temptation.
I still make mistakes.
I still have moments when fear, doubt, or my own understanding tries to take control.
But there is a difference now.
I know where to go.
I go to Jesus.
When I stumble, I come back.
When I am confused, I open His Word.
When I am afraid, I pray.
When I don’t understand, I choose to trust.
And when I realize I have missed the mark, I confess, repent, and ask God to redirect my steps.
Looking back, I can say with all my heart:
It was wise to surrender.
It was wise to stop insisting that I knew better.
It was wise to stop leaning entirely on my own understanding.
It was wise to trust God.
Because the more I know Him, the more I realize that His ways are wiser than mine, His timing is better than mine, and His plans are greater than anything I could design for myself.
I did not lose my life when I surrendered it to Jesus.
I found it.
🌄 Perhaps Jesus Is Calling Your Name Too
Maybe you are reading this today and you feel like Mary.
You are standing beside an empty tomb.
You have questions.
You are disappointed.
You are crying.
You don’t understand what God is doing.
You may even be asking:
“Lord, where are You?”
But pause for a moment.
Look again.
Listen carefully.
Perhaps Jesus is closer than you realize.
Perhaps the answer has not yet come because God is inviting you into deeper trust.
Perhaps the closed door is protection.
Perhaps the delay is preparation.
Perhaps the disappointment is redirecting you.
Perhaps the season of uncertainty is teaching you to stop depending on your own understanding and start depending on Him.
And perhaps, like Mary, you are about to hear Him say:
“Your name.”
💡 What Mary Magdalene Teaches Us About Trusting God
Mary’s encounter with Jesus gives us several powerful lessons.
1. Bring your honest emotions to God.
Mary cried.
She admitted that she did not understand.
We don’t have to pretend before God.
Bring Him your tears, confusion, fear, and questions.
2. Don’t assume that what you see is the whole story.
Mary saw an empty tomb and assumed Jesus’ body had been taken.
But God was doing something infinitely greater.
When circumstances look confusing, resist the temptation to immediately conclude that God has abandoned you.
3. Learn to recognize Jesus through His Word and His voice.
Mary recognized Jesus when He called her name.
For us, we must continually immerse ourselves in God’s Word and learn to recognize what is consistent with His character and truth.
The more we know Scripture, the less easily we are deceived by our own feelings or the world’s voice.
4. Surrender your understanding to God.
There will always be things we cannot explain.
Trust does not mean that we understand everything.
Trust means that we know the One who does.
5. When Jesus changes your life, share your testimony.
Mary did not keep the resurrection news to herself.
She went to the disciples and declared:
“I have seen the Lord!”
Your testimony may be exactly what someone else needs to hear today.
6. Keep walking even when you cannot see the whole path.
Faith is not having every answer.
Faith is taking the next step with God.
As Corrie ten Boom’s words remind us, we can entrust an unknown future to a known God.
🖊️ Journaling: What Is Jesus Saying to You?
Take a quiet moment with God today.
Put down your phone.
Open your Bible.
Take a deep breath.
And ask:
“Lord Jesus, what are You trying to show me in this season of my life?”
Then write honestly:
- What situation in my life currently feels confusing or painful?
- Where am I tempted to assume that God is absent simply because I cannot see what He is doing?
- What am I still trying to control instead of surrendering to God?
- What promise from God’s Word do I need to hold on to?
- If Jesus were calling my name today, what do I sense He would be inviting me to do?
- What part of my testimony can I share with someone who needs hope?
Then finish your journal entry with:
“Jesus, I may not understand what You are doing, but I choose to trust You because I know who You are.”
🕯️ Prayer: “Lord, Help Me Recognize You”
Lord Jesus,
We rejoice because You are risen!
Hallelujah! The tomb could not hold You. Death could not defeat You. You are alive!
Thank You for Mary Magdalene, whose tears became testimony and whose confusion became the joyful declaration, “I have seen the Lord!”
Lord, there are times when we are like Mary.
We cry.
We become confused.
We don’t understand what is happening.
We look at our circumstances and wonder where You are.
Forgive us when we allow our circumstances to become louder than Your promises.
Teach us to trust You even when we cannot see the whole picture.
Help us remember that Your silence does not mean Your absence.
When we feel lost, remind us that You know exactly where we are.
When we are afraid, remind us that You are near.
When we are confused, lead us back to Your Word.
When we fall into sin, give us a humble heart to confess, repent, and return to You.
When we want to control everything, teach us to surrender.
Lord, help us recognize Your voice and follow Your ways.
Let Your Holy Spirit dwell in us and guide us every day so that our lives will glorify You.
Thank You for the promise that one day we will see You face to face.
And until that day comes, help us remain faithful.
Help us finish well.
May our lives become a testimony that points others to You.
And when our earthly journey is finished, may we hear those precious words:
“Well done, good and faithful servant.”
We look forward to the day when You will transform our lowly bodies so that they will be like Your glorious body, according to Your promise in Philippians 3:21.
Until then, Lord Jesus, keep us close.
Teach us to trust You with all our hearts.
We may not know what tomorrow holds.
But we know You hold tomorrow.
In Jesus Christ’s name,
Amen.
❤️ Before You Go…
Mary came to the tomb looking for Jesus.
She thought she had lost Him.
But she discovered something astonishing:
Jesus had never been lost.
And perhaps that is the word someone needs today.
You may feel that God is far away.
You may feel that your prayers are unanswered.
You may feel that you have wandered too far.
You may feel spiritually asleep.
But don’t stop seeking Him.
Don’t stop opening His Word.
Don’t stop praying.
Don’t stop surrendering.
Don’t stop listening.
Because the same Jesus who called Mary by name still calls people to Himself today.
You may not recognize what He is doing yet.
But keep walking.
Keep trusting.
Keep seeking.
And when the moment comes, you may look back and realize:
“He was there all along.”
💬 A Question for You
Have you ever experienced a season when you could not understand what God was doing, only to realize later that He was leading you closer to Him?
Share your story in the comments. Your testimony may be the encouragement someone else desperately needs today.
📚 Continue Your Journey with God
If this devotion encouraged you, don’t stop here.
Visit the popular categories on Immanuel and Me and continue discovering God’s truth through Scripture, reflection, prayer, and personal testimony.
🌿 Bible Reflections — slow down and discover what God’s Word is saying to you.
📖 Gospel of John Devotional Series — continue walking through the life, words, works, death, and resurrection of Jesus.
💡 Proverbs — discover practical wisdom for everyday life.
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Let us keep seeking God together—one passage, one prayer, one surrendered heart at a time.
Until next time, remember:
You may not always understand God’s ways, but you can always trust God’s heart.
Jesus knows your name.
And He is worth following.
Immanuel and Me 
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