Pastor Sten hit it out of the park again this week.
He taught us more about the events of the first Easter weekend and made such a helpful parallel for us to understand about our own lives.
The Saturday between Jesus’ crucifixion and his resurrection was relatively uneventful.
As Sten described it:
The day without a name.
A day of silent waiting.
The day between trial and testimony.
Between pain and purpose.
Their beloved leader was just wrongfully killed. Because it was also the Sabbath, they set down their work, by law, and rested. Probably in sorrow and confusion.
Yep. The King was about to rise again, but his disciples didn’t yet know the depth of God’s plan, so they didn’t assume there would be anything left to celebrate.
Sound familiar?
Before they learned God had a plan, they sat idle in sorrow and confusion. To me, this was a huge Ah-Ha moment because it sounds VERY familiar.
I could detail many parts of my life that felt idle, hopeless, and confused. And the really tough thing about this was, those parts were long. Only in hindsight, could I tell you how long it was before I found some light again because at the time, it felt like “forever.” It’s not a coincidence that in those times of my life, I too, had forgotten that God has a plan.
Instead of surrendering to the waiting with faith, I attempted lots of other solutions in these times. I bought a puppy. I went to Thailand on a girls trip. I tried crying it out. I built a little circle of other somewhat desperate, codependent friends that would never turn down happy hour. I packed a bag to “visit my parents” for multiple days because I knew that home offered a different kind of comfort. I scrolled Facebook to witness other people’s joy. I painted my living room pink.
Now, none of these activities are inherently bad things to do and most were awesome! But in constant rotation, they were also my earth-creature version of creating peace and hope. And you guessed it, this kind of peace and hope didn’t last very long. Perhaps it was fruitful, but I wasn’t sustained.
In the waiting, will you lean solely on your own understanding for resolution, or will you allow it to pull you deeper into surrender? Will you spend it scrolling or praying? Changing the wall color or changing your heart?
Listen to Pastor Sten’s message from Week 2 of our series, Weekend Update: Three Days That Changed The World here:
https://midcurrentchurch.org/wp-content/uploads/2022/04/MC-04-10-22.mp3
