Holy Saturday / Waiting
Read
Romans 8: 18-25 (NLT)
Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later. For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are. Against its will, all creation was subjected to God’s curse. But with eager hope, the creation looks forward to the day when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay. For we know that all creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. And we believers also groan, even though we have the Holy Spirit within us as a foretaste of future glory, for we long for our bodies to be released from sin and suffering. We, too, wait with eager hope for the day when God will give us our full rights as his adopted children, including the new bodies he has promised us. We were given this hope when we were saved. (If we already have something, we don’t need to hope for it. But if we look forward to something we don’t yet have, we must wait patiently and confidently.)
Think
Waiting is hard. Whether you’re a kid waiting for Christmas morning, an executive waiting for a promotion, or a mother-to-be waiting nine months for her child to be born, waiting is hard.
I’ve had some long, dry periods of waiting in my life, too. When I was in College, I remember it felt like it would be forever until I graduated. Then I waited to get married. My husband and I waited for a house; we waited for our children to be born, to go to school, to move out. Now that I’m in my fifties, I find myself waiting for retirement.
Some periods of waiting make me anxious and others fill me with joyful expectation. Some things aren’t so good like waiting to find out if the lump is cancer. But others are good to wait for, pleasant to look forward to and hopeful like the birth of a child or the great celebration of Jesus’ resurrection.
As I wait for Easter morning, I like to think about the disciples all those years ago. What were they feeling as they hid away in that upper room? They were anxious and fearful, waiting for what came next. Would they be hunted down and arrested as followers of Jesus? They’d given their lives to him, but now he was dead. What would happen to them now that their leader and teacher was gone?
They weren’t waiting for Jesus to come back; despite all he’d taught them, they weren’t waiting for the resurrection at all. They’d seen Jesus die; they’d buried his body. They thought the story of Jesus’ life was finished. That’s why they were hiding in fear.
But the story isn’t over at all. I may be waiting, but I’m blessed to know what I’m waiting for: Jesus has been raised from the dead and he’s coming back! I am the continuation of his story, part of his body at work in the world.
I’m not going to hide away in fear tonight. Instead, I’m going to spend this night of waiting thinking of how God wants me to go out and get to work. I’m called by God to carry the story of Jesus and his love into the world. So, no waiting in fear; I’ll be waiting in joyful expectation for what comes next.
Pray
Holy God, you are the Lord of all that I wait for. You’ve been writing the story of your great love through the lives of believers for generations. Help me find my place in that story. Give me useful work to do and help me know when and where you want me to do it. Sit with me in the long, dry periods of waiting, and rejoice with me when the waiting is over. Amen.
Do
Have you ever thought of your life as a continuation of God’s love story to the world? Take some time as you wait today and do just that. Think of the people and places God has led you to and the ways you’ve answered God’s call to love others as he’s loved you. How are you telling your part of Jesus’ story to those you meet every day? Write out a bit of your story that you could share with a stranger or unbelieving friend. Get prepared, then pray for God to show you where and when to share your story. Go do it.
The View from Mt. Hope 