Stop Tending Graves

Pastor Joy
Sep 6
3 min read

Updated: Sep 8

There’s a dangerous trap many believers fall into: living like we were made for the grave.

Not physical graves, but spiritual ones — old disappointments, dead dreams, past mistakes, even lifeless routines. We polish the headstones of what used to be. We water the flowers around what’s already gone.

But hear me: you weren’t made to tend graves.

In Mark 5:1-20, we read about a man tormented by demons who “lived among the tombs.” He was breathing, but he wasn’t truly alive — bound, broken, and stuck in a place of death.

That’s a picture of many believers today. They go through the motions, but there’s no movement of life within them. They’re present in body, but absent in spirit. They’ve settled into spiritual graveyards, content to rehearse the past while refusing to walk into the future.

Let’s be honest: churches are often full of people who are comfortable in the tombs. They’ve lost their hunger for God. They sing the songs, but they don’t carry the sound of worship. They bow their heads in prayer, but never lift their hearts. They’ve mistaken survival for revival.

But God doesn’t leave His people in places of death. In Ezekiel 37, He took the prophet into a valley filled with bones. Dry. Scattered. Lifeless.

Then He asked the question, “Son of man, can these bones live?” (verse 3)

It looked hopeless — but the answer wasn’t in Ezekiel’s vision, it was in God’s voice. The Lord commanded him to prophesy, and as he did, the bones rattled. Tendons and flesh appeared. Breath entered. What was dead became an army.

Maybe you’ve been walking through a valley of dry bones in your own soul. Maybe you’ve been surrounded by people who used to be on fire but are now cold. The same God who breathed into dust in Genesis, the same God who raised Jesus from the grave, is still breathing life into His people today.

John 11:1-44 gives us another picture. Lazarus had been in the tomb four days. The mourners had accepted death as final. But when Jesus arrived, He didn’t mourn with them — He called into the darkness: “Lazarus, come out!” (verse 43)

And Lazarus came out, still bound in grave clothes. Jesus’ command was clear:

Take off the grave clothes and let him go. (John 11:44 NIV)

That’s the voice calling to you today. The Lord doesn’t want you trapped in the memories of yesterday. He doesn’t want you wrapped in the garments of shame, bitterness, or apathy. He’s not satisfied with you standing in the doorway of the tomb. He calls you to step into resurrection life.

Tending Graves vs. Living Resurrection

What does it mean to “tend graves” in our day?

Holding on to unforgiveness like a memorial stone.

Rehearsing old hurts instead of releasing them.

Living off the memory of yesterday’s fire while today’s altar grows cold.

Sitting in the pew but never serving in the Kingdom.

Carrying faith on our lips but not in our lifestyle.

But resurrection looks different:

Choosing forgiveness instead of bitterness.

Letting God breathe fresh fire into prayer and worship.

Serving with joy, not out of obligation.

Walking boldly, knowing the same Spirit who raised Christ lives in you (Romans 8:11).

Burning with passion because you’ve seen the grave lose its grip.

Made for Glory, Not Graves

Paul said in Romans 6:11: “Count yourselves dead to sin but alive to God in Christ Jesus.”

And Jesus Himself declared:

“I have come to give you life in abundance, more than you expect — life in its fullness until you overflow.” (John 10:10 TPT)

Yet too many are still standing in the shadows of the grave, dressing wounds instead of declaring victory. Revelation 3 speaks to a church with a reputation of being alive but spiritually dead.

I know all the things you do, and that you have a reputation for being alive—but you are dead. (Revelation 3:1 NLT)

Friend, God doesn’t want reputation Christianity. He wants resurrection Christianity.

You were not redeemed to polish headstones. You were not raised up to wander graveyards. You were not filled with the Spirit to live lukewarm and passionless.

So I have to ask you: What graves have you been tending?

The grave of unforgiveness?

The grave of disappointment?

The grave of apathy?

The grave of religion without relationship?

The grave is no place for the living. Jesus is still calling: “Come out!”

Shake off the grave clothes. Break free from the chains. Step out of the shadows and into the sunrise of His glory.

Because you weren’t made to tend graves.

You were made to burn with resurrection life.

You were made for more.

You were made for glory.

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