The Day in Between

Two thousand years ago, after the Son of Man was laid in a tomb, a day existed between Friday and Sunday. Most people on Good Friday encourage one another that Sunday is coming, but no one seems to remember the day in between. Saturday was a real day. It was real for the disciples and it is real today. Saturday was a day when tears stained the faces of Jesus’ friends. Their eyes were swollen and tired. Their hearts were broken and heavy. That brokenness, that silence, the agony of losing Jesus brought His followers to a place they had never been before. The void from His absence was very much felt. What was the day before the Resurrection like?

These were the men and women who left everything behind to follow Jesus for three years. They had witnessed His miracles and heard His preaching. They walked in close fellowship with Him. He was their Friend and Teacher. Not only that, but they believed He was their promised Messiah. But then they watched Jesus be spit on, mocked, and crucified. He breathed His last and died. What heart-wrenching pain they must have felt seeing the One they loved being tortured and killed.

Saturday was a dark day for them as hopelessness filled the room around them. That whole day Jesus was dead, and they felt the weight of that the whole day. As believers today we know that Sunday is coming. That glorious morning that would bring hope to the world. But Saturday night was just as real, too. So, I want to recognize Saturday, the day before the Resurrection. If you are in Saturday that’s okay. If you have swollen eyes and a broken heart, that’s okay. Take heart that Jesus doesn’t expect you not to cry, just as He did not expect the disciples not to cry. There is beauty in knowing that Jesus loves us even in the darkest of Saturday nights. Although He might feel far away, out of reach, He has not abandoned you. He sees you on Saturday night! When we find ourselves there, it gives us a reminder of how truly desperate we are for Him.

Praise the Lord for Sunday morning though! Psalm 30:5 “Weeping may tarry for the night, but joy comes in the morning.” He does not leave us there brokenhearted and hopeless. We have a living hope! We have a joy that cannot be crushed by even the darkest of Saturday nights. My friend, my brother and sister in Christ, He sees your tears and hears your cries. You may feel Saturday night will never come to an end, but even still He holds you and does not forsake you there. Take heart, He is Lord over day and night, over Sunday and Saturday. Lord, may You comfort those who have not seen the morning yet.

Ava J