Good Sunday
By Elin Henderson
“And when Jesus had cried out with a
loud voice, He said: ‘Father, into your hands I commit My spirit.’ Having said
this, He breathed His last...Then, they (the angels) said to them, ‘He is not
here, but is risen!’ ”
Luke 23:46
& 24:5-6 (NKJV)
Things had definitely not gone as
planned. Jesus’ followers knew that He was supposed to be the Savior, the
Victor, the Conqueror come to rescue them from captivity, yet here He was,
hanging lifeless on a cross. It was hardly a Good Friday for them. It was
the day hope died. Imagine the questions, the anxieties, the turmoil taking
place in their hearts and minds!
Oh, but we know the rest of the
story. The cross, Good Friday, was not the climax, it was merely a
crisis that moved us towards the climax. The climax came on Good Sunday when the miracle of RESURRECTION
occurred. God breathed life back into Christ’s body, and with one swift blow
defeated sin and death forever!
Many are the days when our lives
mirror Good Friday. The plans we had, our dreams, our
hopes, everything gets shattered on one, sad day. We wonder, “What will happen
now? How in the world will we ever move past this?” What we need is a little Good Sunday resurrection power! And, you know what?
We have it! That “exceeding greatness of His power…which He worked in Christ
when He raised Him from the dead…” (Ephesians 1:19-20) is alive and active on
our behalf today! He takes our dead and lifeless plans, dreams and hopes and
infuses resurrection life back into them.
Maybe today you are in the crisis of
a not-so-Good Friday. Take hope, the CLIMAX has not been
reached yet. Wait for His resurrection power and get ready to rejoice in an
amazing Good Sunday to come!!!
GOING
DEEPER:
1.
Are you
facing a Good Friday crisis today? How do these truths and
verses give you hope?
2.
Can you
think of any other stories in the Word where all hope was lost, the crisis
seemed like the climax, but instead, God had a resurrection Good Sunday planned? (Ex: Israel and the Red Sea in
Exodus 14, David’s life over and over again
like in 1 Samuel 23)
FURTHER
READING:
Oakwood’s missionaries Elin
Henderson (a registered nurse) and her husband Phil serve as church planters
with New Tribes in Mozambique, Africa.
Elin is mother to sixteen-year-old Callie and fourteen-year-old Elias.
