In light of today— Holy Saturday—the day between Good Friday and Easter Sunday, I’m remembering there’s always more than meets the eye…and the ear in this case—especially when God is involved. God moves in the middle! Even when we can’t see or hear a thing and we’re suspended between the “In Jesus name, Amen” and the “THERE IT IS!” God is up to something! And, timing is everything. Holy Saturday served a purpose and so do the Saturdays of our lives.
Saturdays are usually quiet. Holy Saturday was for the disciples—quite the opposite from the day before. Think about the sounds of Good Friday: Crowds shouted “Crucify Him!” No doubt Jesus screamed in agony as the hammer clanged against the spikes. Gasps, sobs and sniffs filled the air from some people, while cursing and insults spewed from the mouths of others.
The Father didn’t have to utter a word to be heard, but He was loud! The blackened sky commanded attention and then He shook the earth! Can you imagine the crumbling and rumbling? It was terrifying! He made a loud commotion when He ripped the 30 foot high, 4 inch thick temple curtain in two. Friday was real loud.
In the stillness of Saturday, Jesus’ body rested quietly—but in the spiritual realm, it was anything but! I don’t know for sure, but I think the saints in Paradise shouted “Glory Hallelujah” while Satan and his demons screeched and hissed. Angels surely harmonized in the sky and surely Jesus cut loose a mighty victory shout! Things were happening, but the disciples didn’t hear or see it. They were in the dark—left to grieve on that silent Saturday.
God allowed the followers of Jesus to experience Saturday—suspended between the “Amen and THERE IT IS!….Dangling between the problem and the resolution…Hanging in the chasm of in-between. And you know, limbo is no fun place to be. We know because the whole world is in that position right now with this Pandemic thing going. We’re all in this pendulous state— just on standby while hoping for a solution with no guarantee of one in sight.
I’m thankful God allowed the Saturday scenario in the Salvation story! It wouldn’t have been the same if Jesus would have opened his eyes five minutes after the spear pierced His side. His body laid still the rest of Friday afternoon, all evening and night plus Saturday morning, afternoon, evening and night!
God’s timing is perfect. In fact, the precise timing and symbolism of how God orchestrated Passover with the Crucifixion of the Lamb is beyond amazing. God allowed this Saturday for many reasons, but it is amazing to trace how the timing of the Feast of the Firstfruits was playing out as well in this whole scenario—Talk about a symbolic correlation and perfect timing! Wow. Every detail of this part of the Gospel story unfurled with precision. Every single prophecy was fulfilled! But… the disciples didn’t get it. All they really knew was their leader and Lord was dead and they might be next.
Anguished, scared, guilty, and heart-broken, I think it is safe to imagine the disciples sobbed themselves to sleep that late Friday night only to wake up a couple hours later into the wee-early morning hours of Saturday to realize the nightmare was real. I can almost feel the warmth of fresh tears streaming as they tossed, turned and paced. It’s reasonable to believe their eyes burned and swelled all day long on Saturday and I bet they dreaded to face the night again. Clueless about what was waiting for them come morning, maybe they repeated the same actions of the night before. God was moving in the middle and they didn’t know.
Do you know that when you’re down to nothing, when all hope is gone, all the while you’re suspended in the middle of the “Amen and THERE IT IS!” you’re actually in the best place you could ever be? When you’re down to nothing, God’s up to something—and it is good! It is right. It is best. It brings Him glory. There really is more than meets the eye and the ear when God is involved. When you can’t see because your eyes are stinging from the tears, and you can’t hear because the silence is too deafening, you have to know God’s ways are higher than ours. You have to remember—God doesn’t sleep. God is always and forever working behind the scenes. He is orchestrating, maneuvering and aligning everything just right. He makes no mistakes! You can’t see it, and you can’t hear it, but God is moving in the middle right in the somewhere between! Rest in the silence of of Saturday because joy comes in the morning! It’s worth waiting for!
