There is a popular saying among Christians: “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming.” We hear it a lot during this time of year. We try to comfort each other with the promise that suffering will give way to victory, and we try to apply it to our own particular situation of some kind of suffering. It’s appropriate, because we all have some things we can hope beyond, things we can try to put away from us as we look to a future of being with God. A subtle trap may lie before us, so let’s beware!
For us, I think, the real test is Saturday. What Jesus did on Friday was certainly amazing. What He endured confounds us, but still, it was what He did. It was His cross to endure. His pain. His agony. Man was a participant only to a small degree, but mainly a spectator. And, so many years later, man is struggling just to believe it all. For us, the trap was laid on Friday!
Saturday is all about what you believe. What you ‘really’ believe. What you believe enough to act upon and to live with and to hold onto in a permanent way. Saturday is about faith. Faith isn’t what you ‘think,’ it is what is at your core when all else is peeled away. It isn’t really our flesh that is tested, it is our faith! Think about it.
Saturday, then, is the Big Test of Faith! The prophets told us what was going to happen. The teachers of Scripture taught us the words. Jesus told His disciples what was coming. It was all laid out for all to know, and yet Peter proved how a weak faith responds! He let the threat of mere men cause himself to shrink in his faith! When the chips were down so was Peter. Peter! The disciple upon who’s confession the very Church would be built! Amazing!
Saturday is the day of testing, because on Saturday we are not yet “seeing” a risen Lord, but just a tomb. We assume the tomb contains Jesus, when, in fact it does not. Remember? He descended into Hell and led captive a host of captives! He led the OUT. He led them to Glory! He gave them Victory, just as He would all who call upon His name. The tomb was not just empty on Resurrection Sunday. That’s just when man rolled away the stone and made the discovery! What happened next is even more amazing, as Jesus Christ and many others previously in tombs were raised from the dead and walked again about their community! Are you serious? Yes!
Don’t be caught in the Trap of Doubt. Let faith arise! Believe in the Lord Jesus Christ, and thou shalt be saved!
It is so true that it is not our flesh being tested, but it is our faith. This really clicked with me. I often feel weak in faith and it frustrates me. It is encouraging to see that, even though I feel weak now, I will feel strong again as I let faith arise.