4-20-19 Daily Devotion
April 20, 2019
A Dark Sabbath
As Jesus’ body lay in a tomb, so did the disciples’ hopes and dreams. They had left everything to follow the one they believed was the Messiah, and now He was dead. Fear, doubt, and grief must have cycled through their minds. What were they to do? Where were they to go? How could they go on without Jesus? No doubt their hearts grew sick with confusion as they contemplated these things.
The disciples’ doubts shouldn’t surprise us, because if we’re honest, we also see doubt in ourselves. The men of “little faith,” as Jesus often called them, failed to believe or remember what the Lord had said of Himself—that He would lay down His life and take it up again. In the darkness of their grief, all His promises were forgotten.
At times in our lives, it may seem that God has let us down, but ultimately we know that He will never forsake us (Heb. 13:5). But like the disciples, we’ll experience dark circumstances, which can dim our faith and dash our hopes. That’s when we most need to remember God’s promises and meditate on His faithfulness.
Often, however, when we’re facing uncertainty, all we want is an answer to our problem or relief from our pain. Therefore, we frequently try to fix it ourselves instead of trusting God and waiting for Him to act.
The disciples had to go through a dark Saturday, but when Sunday finally came, their sorrow was turned to joy. In the same way, if we are willing to wait and trust God through the darkness of night, we can rest in knowing that morning will surely come.
Bible in One Year: 1 Kings 18-19
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