At noon, darkness came over the whole land until three in the afternoon. And at three in the afternoon Jesus cried out in a loud voice, “Eloi, Eloi, lema sabachthani?” (which means “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?”) — Mark 15:33-34
It can be hard to hope and believe when everything you touch is cold. I’ve been praying about a certain situation for over three years. Recently, it has gotten to the point where I feel like I need to see movement. I haven’t.
Movement brings heat. Movement keeps you warm. Jog in place for a few minutes and you’ll feel your temperature increase. Your blood starts pumping. Your body activates. But how do you pray when your hands grow cold? How do you hold onto hope when everything around you goes still?
I don’t know where you need to see movement. I don’t know how anxious your heart feels. I don’t know if you are waking up in the night because your body is processing what you didn’t have time to confront during the day. I don’t know if it’s been three years of waiting, or ten. But I’ll share with you what I keep saying to myself: surrender to the reality of Easter.
Throughout Jesus’ ministry, the disciples had seen a lot of movement: the blind saw, the lame walked, the sick were healed. Jesus’ teaching drew crowds and made converts. So much had happened in and around them over the span of three years, and they must have felt the heat of it everywhere. And then suddenly, everything went still. On Good Friday, everything went cold.
Good is an Old English term that means “holy.” Good Friday is “Holy Friday,” and on the day we remember the holiness in Christ’s death that made a way for our salvation, there is awe even in stillness. God works even when the blood isn’t pumping. God can move even when everything appears to be deathly still. Today, Good Friday is a symbol of hope for the entire world. But it was also the day before the disciples knew there would be a resurrection. We forget that sometimes: when they saw Jesus nailed to a cross, they did so without understanding the purpose of Calvary.
1 Peter 1:24–25 reads, “‘All people are like grass, and all their glory is like the flowers of the field; the grass withers and the flowers fall, but the word of the Lord endures forever.’ And this is the word that was preached to you.” Right now, if all you can see is withered grass, ask yourself whether it’s okay to sit and wait, as the disciples did. What if, today, we don’t look away from the lament of the Lamb? What if, today, we submit to the silence of Saturday? What if, today, we don’t jump to the joy that followers of God had no idea was coming on Sunday morning? What if, today, we surrender to the holy grief of Friday?
There is no resurrection without death; there is no Sunday morning without Friday night; there is no redemption without the One who redeemed. Trust the methods of heaven.
Maybe like me you are also watching sand pass through an hourglass; the sparse grains certainly don’t look encouraging. Surrender your emotions to the truth of Easter. Let Good Friday be Good Friday. Let death feel like death. Let the air be uncomfortably cold.
And we’ll see each other Sunday morning.
Reflection Questions:
1. How do you hold on to hope when everything around you goes still?
2. What does the symbolism in Easter remind you of and how can you apply it to your own life?
p.p1 {margin: 5.0px 0.0px 0.0px 0.0px; text-align: center; line-height: 9.1px; font: 9.0px Helvetica} Dr. Heather Thompson Day is an interdenominational speaker, an ECPA bestseller, and host of Viral Jesus, a podcast with Christianity Today.
This article is part of Easter in the Everyday, a devotional to help individuals, small groups, and families journey through the 2024 Lent & Easter season. Learn more about this special issue here!
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