Today is Easter Saturday. Does it have an official name? I don’t even know. There’s Palm Sunday, Maundy Thursday, Good Friday and Easter Sunday. But this in between day…I’ll just call it Easter Saturday (unless one of you well educated folks wants to share it’s official name with me).
In Biblical chronology, yesterday, the day we observe as Good Friday, is the day that Jesus was found guilty of being the King of the Jews. He was beaten, tortured, ridiculed, harassed and nailed to a cross to die a most brutal death. For those who followed him, it must have been the darkest of days. It must have been the most painful of days. Surely his disciples thought it was the end. And his mother. I can’t even. She watched her precious child suffer the cruelest fate and had to lay his broken body in a borrowed tomb. How do mamas face such things?
In that same Biblical chronology, tomorrow, the day we observe as Easter Sunday or Resurrection Sunday, is the day that Jesus did just what he promised: He rose from that borrowed tomb and gave His children the final victory over death, hell and the grave. It’s a day of joyful celebration, a day of remembrance, a day of honor. His disciples were in humble disbelief. His mother overwhelmed at the goodness of God to allow her just a little more time with her precious son.
But what about Saturday? That in between day?
I’m not at all a fan of the in betweens sometimes. The waiting. The knowing that this present trouble has a promise…a day of resurrection…that will redeem it. The in between is hard. It’s uncertain. It can lead to places of questioning the promises that God has made. Most of us don’t have only a 1-day in between. Our in betweens can be days, months, even years.
The time between the awful doctor’s visit and the end of the battle against sickness and disease. The time between the lost job and the new career journey. The time between a child walking away from a life with Christ and returning Him with open arms. That time between losing a precious piece of your heart to death and finally beginning to feel some mending of the broken heart. That time between a shattered dream and restoration of what was lost.
The in betweens are so hard. They are so real. So raw. They are dark. They are lonely…even when you’re not alone in them. The pain can be unbearable and the loss immeasurable. And there you are, in the in between, waiting for your resurrection Sunday. The day that this present trouble is redeemed.
Are you there right now? In an in between? My friend, let me tell you, I’ve been there. Right smack in the middle of an in between. I’ve been there when I felt the presence of God and promise of redemption from the onset. And I’ve been there when I’ve questioned if God even saw me at all. I’ve seen the promise of redemption in fulfilled right here on this Earth with a beautiful story to share. And I’ve come to peace with knowing that on this Earth there won’t be answers, but in light of eternity, all things will be made right. That’s the harder one. But some things will never have an Earthly answer. Just an overwhelming peace the my Father loves me enough to redeem it in eternity.
Friend, if you are sitting there right now, in your Easter Saturday, your in between, look to the cross. LOOK TO THE CROSS. That cross redeemed it all. ALL OF IT! There is no trouble in this earthly life that Jesus did not redeem on that cross. In your darkness, in your in between, cling to that cross. Your darkest day has a day of resurrection that will follow. Your darkest day is why Jesus hung on that cross. He didn’t just hang there to give you direct access to heaven. He hung there to redeem this life and redeem your in betweens.
That tomb? His body walked out, but your sin, your pain, your grief, your struggles found their final resting place. That was all nailed to that cross that day. That was all placed in that tomb that day. But Jesus rose. He redeemed all of it.
Tomorrow, celebrate His resurrection. Celebrate that He paid your price so that you could see heaven. Celebrate that he defeated death. But also find hope that he is redeeming your present trouble. Whatever it is. The cross wins.
Do you need prayer in your in between? Can I pray for you? Use the contact form here or the messaging on Facebook. I’d love to pray for you in your in between.
Humbled by the cross,
Beth
BethBates.Life 