Sunday is Coming

I can’t even begin to imagine how the disciples felt on Friday.  Their friend, leader, SAVIOR, was killed.  They thought that He was going to set their people free!  They thought He was going to overturn the cruel rule of the Romans!  They thought that He was going to change history forever!  They were right; they just didn’t know it yet.  But its Friday, and here He laid, dead.  Crucified. They were disappointed.  Sad. Upset.  Unsure.  Angry.  Confused.. I could go on.

Maybe you are in the same situation.  I mean, not exactly… I’m pretty sure you don’t know anyone who was crucified, and I’m fairly sure that your Savior does not lie dead.  But maybe you had high hopes for something, and it now disappointingly lays at your feet.  Maybe you were looking to someone who turned out not to be who you thought they were.  Or maybe a job didn’t work out the way you were hoping (I’ve been there).  Or maybe, you wanted something so badly, and you came so close to getting it, and now you are disappointed… sad… unsure… or something worse.

I’ve got good news for you… Sunday is coming.

The disciples felt all these things and more when they laid the body of Jesus to rest in a borrowed tomb.  However, they did not see the big picture.  Jesus HAD TO die on that cross.  He had to pay the price for sin of all people.  He had die, so that we might live.  Then, Jesus would rise again.  What the disciples did not know is that in the next couple of days, they would realize Jesus power.  In order to defeat death, Jesus had to succumb to death.

I don’t know what your circumstance is, what disappointed you, or what breaks your heart.  I do know this one thing: Very few people can see the big picture as they are walking through disappointment.  We can have faith in the bigger picture, and trust that God knows what He is doing, but very rarely do people know everything what is going on.

Here is my story:  A couple of years ago, I left Portland, Oregon with my wife, and son who was less than a year old.  We had lived in Portland for 4 years.  We loved Portland.  We loved our home.  We loved my job.  But it was not God’s plan for us.  What was ahead of us? Uncertainty.  What was our emotional state? Broken, upset, sad, angry… I had no job to go to, no home to call my own.  Just my parents’ basement, some cash stored up and faith.

God provided.  When we needed money, God provided in various ways.  When I needed a job, God provided.  What my family and I did not see was a much better opportunity that God had in store for us… Yes, that time was very difficult for us.  It was our Friday.  But like the disciples, we did not know that Sunday was coming.

Eventually, at just the right time, God provided the right opportunity for us.  A pastor called me and was interested in hiring me as the children’s pastor in a rural town in Eastern Oregon (Pendleton).  It was out of curiosity that we went, because we heard so many great things about the church.  I’ve never lived in a rural area before, and I wasn’t sure if I’d like it (turns out, small towns are awesome).  At just the right time, God showed up and reminded me that though we all have Fridays like the disciples had, Sunday is coming.

No matter what situation you are facing, Sunday is coming.  Your Sunday may not look like the disciple’s Sunday, when they found Jesus to be alive again.  It may not be that dramatic.  It may not be exactly what you were hoping for, but Sunday is coming.  Jesus is still in the business of working miracles.

It might be Friday, but Sunday is coming!