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The In-Between: When You Can't See What God Is Doing · In the Stillness Podcast

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  Hey y'all, it's friendly. Welcome back to the pod, Happy
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  Holy Saturday. We are currently right in the
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  middle of Easter weekend and honestly, I think this day is
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  one that we don't talk about enough.
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  We love Good Friday because we see the cross and it is so
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  impactful and significant to sit with.
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  And then, of course, Easter Sunday is so special because we
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  get to see and reflect on the resurrection.
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  But today just feels different. It feels quiet, uncertain and
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  kind of like, OK, what now? There's also not a lot of
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  scripture for this day. And I think if we're honest, a
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  lot of us can relate to this day more than any other.
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  So I just want to sit in this tension and do it not without
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  hope, but actually look forward to the hope that is to come.
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  So of course I am going to press pause and 1st John again, I'm
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  thinking I'm going to resume that on Monday after Easter.
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  But I want to read Luke chapter 23 through verses 54 to 56 over
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  y'all it says it was preparation day and the Sabbath was about to
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  begin. The women who had come with
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  Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how
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  his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared
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  spices and perfumes, but they rested on the Sabbath in
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  obedience to the commandment. OK, so this moment, whenever you
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  think back to it, it's super heavy.
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  Jesus, their Messiah, their one of their best friends, had just
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  died. The one that they followed, they
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  loved, they believed in. He's now in a tomb and all hope
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  seems lost. On Good Friday, we heard it is
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  finished and then Saturday kind of feels like it's hidden and
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  then Sunday is going to declare it is revealed.
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  But they did not know that Sunday was coming yet.
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  And that is what makes this day so powerful because they were
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  living in the unknown. So maybe that's where you are
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  right now in the in between waiting or not really seeing
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  what God is doing. But I just want to say that just
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  because God is silent does not mean that he is still.
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  So between the Old Testament and the beginning of the New
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  Testament, Malachi to Matthew, there were actually about 400
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  years of silence. But God was working.
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  He was preparing the world for the cry of a baby boy, the
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  Savior of the world. And now here again in Scripture,
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  in Luke, he's silent, or so it seems, but he's preparing the
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  world for the voice of a risen Savior.
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  Y'all. God does some of his greatest
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  work in what feels like silence. And then we see the women.
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  Their devotion is just unmatched.
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  They remained at the foot of the cross when almost everyone else
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  fled. They watched where his body was
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  laid. They prepared spices and
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  perfumes and oils to honor Jesus.
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  But what stands out most? They rested in obedience.
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  Even in their sorrow, even in their heartbreak, they chose
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  obedience. They did not let their emotions
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  override their commitment to the Father.
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  And I think that's such a word and truth for us.
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  This does not communicate that you have to numb your emotions
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  or pretend like everything is great in life.
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  They still wept. They grieved the loss of Jesus.
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  But how they responded actually showed what they believed.
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  They understood that this life is temporary, and they knew that
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  God was still worthy even in the waiting, even in the hardship.
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  And they were not prestigious women.
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  They were not important by the world standards.
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  They were ordinary people, but with extraordinary devotion.
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  And it was because of that devotion that I believe they
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  were some of the first to witness the empty tomb, their
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  consistency, it positioned them for revelation and a deeper
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  understanding of Jesus and God's grace ultimately.
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  So I just wonder for all of us, what breakthrough might be on
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  the other side of your obedience.
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  What if staying fully devoted in this season that God has you in,
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  in the waiting, in the silence, whatever it looks like?
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  What if that is actually preparing you for something that
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  you can't even see yet? It's on the other side of the
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  door. And I just want to say it is
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  very hard to grow stronger and what is comfortable and what is
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  known. I'm thinking back to my workout
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  classes. I hear all the time the
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  instructor will say you have to break down your muscles to come
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  back stronger, but even though that is a funny tie in to a
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  workout, I think it is so impactful for this.
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  Growth requires tension. It requires resistance in
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  stretching. Spiritually it is the same.
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  These seasons can break us down, but it's only so that we can
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  depend more on Jesus. And what happens when we depend
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  on Jesus more? We get to experience more of Him
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  because we tap into more of his strength.
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  We see more of his presence and ultimately more of His power
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  within us. So if you're in a season that
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  might feel like this Saturday, where it looks like loss, it
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  feels like defeat and discouragement, where you might
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  not be seeing anything changing, don't let what you see deceive
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  you. Jesus has already defeated the
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  grave. He has already overcome.
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  And this is not the end of the story.
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  God is still writing your story, just as he was when Jesus was in
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  that grave. All hope is not lost.
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  It's actually just arriving. So I want to read Lamentations
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  chapter 3 verses 25 through 33 over y'all because I think it is
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  such a good passage on waiting and just leaves me feeling so
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  encouraged. It says Yahweh is always good to
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  all who trust in him, to the soul who searches for him.
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  It is always good to hope quietly, waiting for Yahweh's
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  deliverance. It is always good to learn
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  patience and humility from a young age.
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  If your burden is heavy and hard to bear, endure it quietly.
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  Bow low in humble submission, for there may still be hope.
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  Offer a cheek to the one who would strike you, and learn to
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  endure insults, for the Lord will not reject you forever.
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  If He causes grief, He will show compassion from the cascading
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  overflow of his endless love. The Lord takes no delight in
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  afflicting anyone with suffering.
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  So a few reflection questions before I move into prayer.
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  First off, is there anywhere in your life where you're in a
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  quote UN quote Saturday season waiting and not seeing what God
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  is doing? Are you choosing obedience even
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  when your emotions feel overwhelming?
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  And what would it look like for you to trust 100% that God is
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  still working behind the scenes? So let's closeout in prayer now.
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  Father God, thank you that even when we cannot physically see
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  what you are doing, you are still working.
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  You are an active God. I just want to pray for every
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  person who's in a waiting season right now, whether that is for
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  financial breakthrough, for relationships, maybe just to
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  experience more of you. God, I pray that you would
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  strengthen their faith and help them stay obedient even in the
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  unknown. Remind us daily that you are
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  good, God, that you are faithful.
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  You are never absent. Your silence does not mean
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  absence. I pray that we would trust You
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  in the hidden places and that we would cling to hope and believe
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  that this is not the end of our story, that as long as we are
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  alive and you wake us up every day, there is purpose, there is
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  intention, and you have more for us.
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  God, Sunday is coming. May we just be excited about
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  that and expectant of all that you have for us today and what's
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  to come. We surrender it all to You,
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  Jesus, in your name. Amen.
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  OK guys, happy Saturday. I hope you all have a wonderful
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  rest of your weekend and continue celebrating what Jesus
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  has done and what's to come. And I will see y'all on the next
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  episode.