by Andrew Sbarra
We have all heard the expression, “It’s Friday but Sunday’s coming.” It’s a cute saying that we proclaim in the Easter season to remind ourselves that we may be experiencing pain and sorrow but victory is on its way. This is all good, but how many times do we consider Saturday?
If we consider the Saturday following Jesus’ death, the disciples were most likely already in hiding in the upper room experiencing little to no rest at all. “How could I have deserted my rabbi when he needed me most?” “Will the high priests and Roman soldiers come for me next?” “How could Jesus have been the Messiah but die yesterday?” “What do I do now?”
Imagining how the disciples felt on that Saturday leaves us all with the same question, “Once the initial shock of a tragedy or trial wears off, how do we handle the heartache and disappointment before the peace?” At some point in our lives we experience the in-between. For you it may look more like this, you have invested all of your time in a relationship that ended unexpectedly. You put in so much energy and resources into a job or project but were let go. You apologized for a wrong that you did but the other individual refuses to forgive you. You spent countless hours studying for an exam only to fail it. You prayed for a healing or a love one to accept Christ and your prayer is not answered. When the dust settles, hope and restoration can seem more like a far off dream rather than a day away.
When you find yourself on the Saturday in between, a point of what now, consider God’s truths.
“I will never fail you or abandon you”
(Hebrews 13:5)
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.”
(Romans 8:28)
“In this world you will have trouble, but take heart for I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33)
Everything will work out in the end, and if you you are in a stage of in-between, then it’s not the end. Don’t focus on the confusion and disappointment of now, but instead set your eyes of Christ who is writing a bigger story.
