“The road to success is dotted with many tempting parking spaces.” – Will Rogers.
Today in history was the day after Jesus was crucified. The acclaimed saviour of the world was successfully crucified and is now laid in a brand new grave. Heaven seemed silent, the disciples were scattered, and the reigning gist in town was of the terrible things that had happened in Jerusalem – The man they thought was the messiah was killed and buried. No fireworks, no riots, no placards. Anything at all would have been refreshing – #EndPilate, #EndRomanInvastion, or #EndPharisees. Nothing! This Saturday was silent, nothing created any anticipation or excitement about what was going to happen. Everywhere was on mute. The only thing that connects us to the resurrection is the words that Jesus spoke plainly to those who were intimate with him and what he had spoken proverbially for those who were going to only make sense of it when it happened.
This day an event in the life and story of Jesus also gives all of us fresh hope. It lets us know that no matter how silent our lives seem in the gap between waiting and celebrating, we must understand that God’s silence is not inactivity. We must see the life of Jesus and have it as our template that somewhere in the middle of our nights, the sun is already heading for the horizon, and in the fullness of time, there will be a brand new day.
What should we do in these times? How do we keep our faith alive? How do we feast on the oxygen of our soul – hope? The disciples of Jesus were heavily traumatized by the events that happened to lead to the faithful Friday. They may not be the perfect role models for how we should handle the doubt and fear that creeps up on us in these times when we can’t get any further proof or clear assurances from our commander. If we look deep, however, we will see that these are not the only times, and our master has an expectation of how we should handle this gap.
Here are a few of Jesus’ perspectives on how to navigate between the Good Friday and Easter Monday of your life.
1. Persevere – Don’t give up because things don’t seem to be lining up with your expectations, re-examine what God’s word said exactly and put your faith in that, and not your expectations. Many times, we read our own greed into the creed; somehow, without being evil, we are capable of taking what God has said, printing our expectations over it, and rather than expect the fulfilment of what God has said, we are looking for the fulfilment of our human assumptions. For example, if God says you will have a child, the normal assumption is that you will get pregnant, but can we have children without getting pregnant? Yes. We need to be open to God’s word in its purest form without branding it with our expectations.
2. Have Faith – Faith is assurance that God will uphold His word. Irrespective of current realities, irrespective of circumstances or other voices. We must learn to hold on to God’s words and judge Him faithfully until it is done. It’s easy to despair when things do not look as expected. We need to train ourselves to have one solid anchor, God’s word. We must make him our final authority, nothing else.
3. Find meaning in your current situation: Even if your current situation is not what you had hoped for, try to find meaning and purpose in it. Ask yourself what you can learn from this experience or how it can help you grow as a person. No matter how bad, sad, or mad you feel about current events, find meaning in them. Two paradigms always bring me peace, the first is that all things ultimately work together for those that love God, and the second is that the events of this life do not qualify as lasting long enough for a wink compared to our timelines for eternity. This means in the full scope of life eternal, everything happening temporarily is too small to shift the scale of God’s goodness and plans.
4. Surround yourself with positivity: Surround yourself with positive and supportive people who believe in you and your dreams. Stay away from negative influences or people who bring you down. Fellowship and relate with people who share the same beliefs. This is when Iron is needed to sharpen iron. This is when we need to lean on each other to stay committed to the first 3 ways of keeping on track.
We all experience this gap, this lull, this space between
‘thus saith” and “it came to pass”. We only need to press through, hold on, and stay expectant through the time of waiting. Though the weeping may endure for the night, joy is coming in the morning.
As you celebrate Easter, think about areas of your life where there seems to be a pause, where the promise is yet to be fulfilled, and take courage from the journey of Jesus. Joy is certainly coming in the morning.
