How do you handle waiting?

There are times in life when all you can do is wait.

You’ve done what you can. You’ve said what needs to be said. And now there is nothing left to do but sit in the quiet and wait for what comes next.

I remember when my daughter was born. What started as a natural birth ran into complication that required a C-section with full anesthesia. So, they took Melissa out of the room. I followed them to the O.R., but could not go in. All I could do is stand there an wait.

Those moments can feel heavy.

That is where this day of Holy Week brings us.

Jesus has died.

His body has been taken down from the cross and laid in a tomb. The stone is rolled into place. The crowds have dispersed. The noise and chaos of the previous day have given way to silence.

For the disciples, everything has changed.

• The One they followed is gone.
• The One they trusted has been crucified.
• The One they hoped in now lies in a tomb.

There is no clear path forward. No explanation that makes sense of it all. Only grief, confusion, and silence.

And so, they wait.

This day does not have the intensity of Good Friday. It does not yet have the joy of Easter morning. It sits in between, in a place that feels uncertain and unresolved.

We know that kind of place.

There are times when we do not see what God is doing. Times when His work seems hidden and we are left waiting, without answers and without clarity.

Holy Saturday reminds us that waiting is part of the life of faith. But it also reminds us of something else.

Even in the silence, God is still at work.

Nothing that happened on Good Friday has been undone. Jesus has already accomplished the sacrifice He came to offer. The forgiveness of sins has been won. The price has been paid in full.

The disciples cannot yet see what is coming.

But we can.

We know that the tomb will not remain closed. We know that death will not have the final word and what looks like an ending is about to become a beginning.

That does not remove the weight of this day.

But it changes how we wait.

We do not wait without hope. We wait trusting that God is still working, even when we cannot see it.

As Holy Week comes to a close, we find ourselves in that quiet space between promise and fulfillment. But this is what the life of faith is, isn’t it?

Ever since we came to know the saving grace of Jesus Christ, we have been waiting. We wait for the ultimate fulfillment of Easter, the resurrection that is to come. We long for the day when sin is eradicated and we spend eternity with each other in the full presence of God.

That day will come, but we must wait. We are in a life-long Saturday, but remember that Saturday was the Sabbath, a day of rest. So to, even as we wait, we rest. We rest in the finished work of Jesus Christ.

Let’s pray…

Heavenly Father,

In times of waiting, when we do not understand what You are doing, help us to trust in You. Remind us that Your work continues even in silence. Keep us grounded in the hope of Jesus Christ and the salvation He has accomplished for us and the hope of the feast that is to come.

Amen.

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.