One of the dangers with any doctrine is postponing it until the indefinite future. This is what Martha did regarding the resurrection just before Jesus restored life to her brother Lazarus. Jesus told her that he is the resurrection and was able to raise Lazarus immediately, but her thinking restricted the matter until the end of time.

Jesus said to her, “Your brother will rise again.” 24  Martha said to him, “I know that he will rise again in the resurrection on the last day.” 25  Jesus said to her, “I am the resurrection and the life. Whoever believes in me, though he die, yet shall he live, 26  and everyone who lives and believes in me shall never die. Do you believe this?” 27  She said to him, “Yes, Lord; I believe that you are the Christ, the Son of God, who is coming into the world.” John 11:23-27 (ESV) 

When Jesus returns in glory, he will indeed raise us from the dead, but even now we can experience resurrection life on a daily basis. There is only one problem associated with this process, however: to experience resurrection there must first be a death.

Imagine the horror Jesus felt as he hung on the cross as he experienced separation from his Father as the sins of the world fell upon him! You and I were born into this world separated from God because of Adam’s sin, but this was the first time for Jesus who had experienced glorious unity with his heavenly Father for all eternity.

For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God. 2 Corinthians 5:21 (ESV) 

And about the ninth hour Jesus cried out with a loud voice, saying, “Eli, Eli, lema sabachthani?” that is, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” Matthew 27:46 (ESV) 

Abraham also experienced a version of this in what the Bible calls a “terror of great darkness” (Genesis 15:12), at which time God confirmed to him an everlasting covenant. God’s eternal unconditional promise to Abraham was based on what Christ accomplished millennia later. God is not bound by time as we are. The benefits of Christ’s death and resurrection reverberate through time backward and forward for all eternity. Jesus experienced completely the horror of darkness that Abraham felt in part. Nevertheless, God required Abraham to go through it.

Later in Abraham’s story, the death-resurrection principle played out again. God asked Abraham to sacrifice Isaac, the son of promise for whom he had patiently waited for 25 years! Amazingly Abraham immediately obeyed without questioning God and was ready to complete the act when an angel stopped him. This, of course, foreshadowed Father God’s actual sacrifice of his Son upon the cross. In writing about this act of obedience by Abraham, the author of Hebrews states that our faith forefather trusted in God’s ability to raise the dead.

It was by faith that Abraham offered Isaac as a sacrifice when God was testing him. Abraham, who had received God’s promises, was ready to sacrifice his only son, Isaac, 18  even though God had told him, “Isaac is the son through whom your descendants will be counted.” 19  Abraham reasoned that if Isaac died, God was able to bring him back to life again. And in a sense, Abraham did receive his son back from the dead. Hebrews 11:17-19 (NLT) 

What Abraham did revealed his faith that God will fulfill his promises, even if he requires us temporarily to let go of them. Some call this “death of a vision.”  When we are willing to let something apparently die that is a precious promise to us, in the hope that God will yet restore it in his way and his time, we participate in the resurrection principle.

Paul wrote about this to the church in Corinth.

For we do not want you to be unaware, brethren, of our affliction which came to us in Asia, that we were burdened excessively, beyond our strength, so that we despaired even of life; 9  indeed, we had the sentence of death within ourselves so that we would not trust in ourselves, but in God who raises the dead; 10  who delivered us from so great a peril of death, and will deliver us, He on whom we have set our hope. And He will yet deliver us, 11  you also joining in helping us through your prayers, so that thanks may be given by many persons on our behalf for the favor bestowed on us through the prayers of many. 2 Corinthians 1:8-11 (NASB) 

The resurrection principle requires that we cease to try to keep ourselves and our promises alive through our own strength, but instead abandon ourselves to the faithfulness of God.

This is what Jesus did on the cross. As he descended into the abyss of death and experienced complete weakness and relinquished all attempts to save himself, he abandoned himself to his Father, the great Promise Keeper.

And Jesus, crying out with a loud voice, said, "Father, INTO YOUR HANDS I COMMIT MY SPIRIT." Having said this, He breathed His last. Luke 23:46 (NASB) 

This was the culmination of Jesus’ faith walk, but he professed his faith in God’s resurrection power often prior to his crucifixion. He repeatedly told his disciples that he would die on a cross and be raised three days later. For us to properly experience God’s resurrection power, we must have faith in his ability to pull it off.

To experience resurrection, it is important that we understand and embrace the process. Jesus knew he had to die first in order to be raised. The same is true for us.

What has God promised to you that seems hopeless at this point? Have you released it into God’s hands? Are you able to trust him to give it back to you, if you give it to him? That is how we experience the resurrection in everyday life.