“And [Mary and Mary Magdalene] said to themselves, “Who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us?” – Mark 16:3

I can only imagine what was going on in the minds of these ladies. It was a serious matter indeed, as far as they were concerned.                                                                                                                                 

A few days earlier, they had witnessed how their Lord had brutally met His death and was buried in a borrowed tomb.

A heavy stone had been put on the grave, cut in a rock.

Additionally, guards had been deployed on site after information emerged that there was a plot for the disciples to come and steal the body and later claim that He had risen from the dead.

That however did not deter these courageous women from preparing spices to embalm the body of their Master.

Throughout the weekend, they had been busy buying and preparing the spices and come Sunday morning, they were on the road to the place where Jesus’ body had been laid. Everything was ready but there was a problem.

The huge stone on the tomb; who would help them roll it away given the heavy lifting involved and the security guards on duty?

“By the way, we have everything ready but who will roll away the stone from the door of the tomb for us given that we’re just two women all on our own?

I want to suppose that these ladies had sent messages to the disciples to come along, which the apostles politely declined and rightly so. It was too risky.

The two ladies had a very important task to carry out and their anxieties and concerns were legitimate, of course. They were committed to serving their Lord and showing Him their love.

However, all their ministry and service was rooted in unbelief and doubt rather than faith.

He had consistently told them that He would rise from the dead on the third day.

So, the two angels at the tomb asked them; “Why do you seek for the living among the dead? He is not here, but is risen” (see Luke 24:5-6).

Yes, you might be busy ‘serving’ the Lord and all worked by anxiety over His ‘work’ but are you doing it out of faith in His Word or out of unbelief rooted in human effort?

So, what was all the hassle for? In the end, all their spices and worries were wasted energy, resources and time. 

They simply dumped them at the tomb as they rushed to the disciples to share the Good News of the Lord’s resurrection.

Yes, you might be busy ‘serving’ the Lord and all worked by anxiety over His ‘work’ but are you doing it out of faith in His Word or out of unbelief rooted in human effort?

Whatever it is that is making us worried and restless, it was already sorted. Heaven already rolled away the ‘stone!’ We can face tomorrow because the Resurrection of Christ has already rolled away the ‘stone’ that looked impregnable.

Like it was the case for the two ladies at the empty tomb, I pray that a time would come when you will realize that all the hustle and tussle was absolutely unnecessary in the first place.

 It is His work, not yours!