Today is the Saturday between the crucifixion and the Resurrection. It's a day of quiet waiting. The online Bible study we have been doing is all about waiting. We are in a time of waiting during our COVID quarantine. Today is another day of waiting. Maybe it doesn't feel like a day any different than the last twenty or so days. In the days of Jesus this was a day of devastation, a day the disciples thought all hope was lost. They thought they would never see Jesus or hear Him talk again.
Imagine you were one of Jesus' followers. You learned from Him, traveled with Him, and He changed your life. You had never heard the kinds of things He talked about. Jesus was always saying things that were very mysterious. Things you didn't quite always understand. He told you His time with you would be short. It didn't scare you because you SAW Jesus raise Lazarus from the dead. You saw Him give sight to the blind man, heal a leper, and give the mute speech.
But now...it's all over. You heard Jesus was crucified. You were too scared to find out for yourself. You were so scared they were going to come for you too, that you were going to end up on a cross. You wondered if it had all been worth it if this was how it was all going to end. Why didn't He save Himself? Where is God? Why did He let this happen?
Back in the present day we live as Easter people.
The first believers didn't know that Easter was coming. They thought everything was done. The words Jesus said on the cross, "It is finished", were taking literally. They thought everything was over. Even though we are Easter people we can relate to how the disciples felt. We have times in our lives when we think God has stopped working. Stopped listening. That our prayers are being sent into a great void. Many may feel like this right now. Where is God in this Pandemic? Does He hear us groaning? Does He care?
This Pandemic can make us feel like we are sitting in our own Silent Saturday, and it feels like it is never going to end. It may feel like you can't hear God. It can feel like we are trapped between the Crucifixion and the Resurrection and we are waiting. We are waiting for God to answer us and rescue us from our entrapment.
The Silence of God can break your heart in two. It can feel like your world has been turned upside down. Silent Saturday teaches us the importance of God being silent. This day God was working on huge, monumental things we probably will never understand. God was doing His things even though it seemed He was nowhere in sight. Are you there? Is this Pandemic making it hard for you to see what God is doing? Are you afraid you won't make it to the other side?
We don't now what it will be like on the other side of COVID. We will survive and be able to look back at this time in our lives. How can I be certain of this? Silent Saturday is my proof. God is working in the silence. We can already see little miracles that show He is working and will continue working in our strife. He will make a way to the other side. We are in a post-crucifixion, pre-Easter moment. It is a moment when all can seem lost, that evil has won.
Let's challenge ourselves to sit in this place. To sit in this place and see God. Let's not wait to look back and see Him when this over, let's see Him now. Let's see Him in our Silent Saturday. In the Easters of our lives, those top of the mountain days we can see God so clearly. But I guarantee that when we start to see Him in our Silent Saturdays, our relationship with Him will grow by leaps and bounds. So let's find God in our now!!
The more our relationship grows with God the more we can trust and rely on His plan. We need Him in our lives NOW. A storm has hit and we may be treading water so we need God's power to stand up on the waves and walk on. We know that Jesus will claim victory. He does on Easter, and He will with this Pandemic. The night may be dark and hard but the morning will come. We have to rely on what we know about God. He is good. He is faithful. He is true. We can take that to the bank. It allows us to stand up in the storm and not be blown over. This is how we become unshakable.
We look beyond what we can see in the future and we believe. Easter wasn't possible without Good Friday. Suffering and hardship is part of our lives, God told us it would be. But the God who told us that is not the God of Good Friday. He is the God of the Resurrection.
So today, and for the rest of our COVID journey, we remember the silence of God. Let this be a unbelievable opportunity to grow the intimacy of your relationship with God. Let God grow your faith to heights you never knew possible. Choose to trust God despite your fear. Choose to trust God even though you don't understand what is going on. Don't confuse silence with inactivity. Don't let that trap of Satan get a hold on you. Satan wants you to feel lost, confused, fearful, and locked away. Just because we are being kept in our homes don't be inactive. Be active in opening your eyes to the presence and movement of God.
God is on the move!!! (Click for awesome song)
God is on the move!!! (Click for awesome song)
