Holy Week Devotional
An 8 day devotional, written by members of our church family, dedicated to bringing us through the period of holy week. All leading up to Christs work on the Cross. Join us .
Saturday
Devotional #7
Saturday
Read: Matthew 27:62-66
The circumstances of Friday led to the solemn reality of Saturday, the Sabbath. His followers didn’t know how to go on, weren’t sure what was next. Everything seemed lost and dark. The Pharisees and other Jewish leaders spent the day getting the tomb sealed, locked up and under guard. He was not coming back, that was for sure – by worldly standards.
It took my journey of incarceration to get even the slightest glimmer of what all this really felt like. Sentenced to an amount of time that is basically my natural life, this – my darkest hours – is my Sabbath. I am sealed in the tomb, locked up and surrounded by guards. The world sees me as dead and gone, locked away forever. I pray for miraculous resurrection. I can empathize somewhat with Christ’s followers at the time. But yet, I sustain hope and faith in my Father. I honor Him with my time here, devoting my “Sabbath” to Him and furthering His kingdom. Much like Christ in the tomb, my time here is necessary for the eternal redemption. Unlike most of us, though, Christ was blameless, taking on our sin to save our souls with His love.
It is always darkest before the dawn. We are children of the Father of light, the Resurrector of the dead, who makes gardens out of the ashes of our former lives. There is purpose to the pain. Trust Him. Keep hope alive. Allow His love to surround and heal you. Praise the Lord for the ultimate sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Amen!
Read: Matthew 27:62-66
The circumstances of Friday led to the solemn reality of Saturday, the Sabbath. His followers didn’t know how to go on, weren’t sure what was next. Everything seemed lost and dark. The Pharisees and other Jewish leaders spent the day getting the tomb sealed, locked up and under guard. He was not coming back, that was for sure – by worldly standards.
It took my journey of incarceration to get even the slightest glimmer of what all this really felt like. Sentenced to an amount of time that is basically my natural life, this – my darkest hours – is my Sabbath. I am sealed in the tomb, locked up and surrounded by guards. The world sees me as dead and gone, locked away forever. I pray for miraculous resurrection. I can empathize somewhat with Christ’s followers at the time. But yet, I sustain hope and faith in my Father. I honor Him with my time here, devoting my “Sabbath” to Him and furthering His kingdom. Much like Christ in the tomb, my time here is necessary for the eternal redemption. Unlike most of us, though, Christ was blameless, taking on our sin to save our souls with His love.
It is always darkest before the dawn. We are children of the Father of light, the Resurrector of the dead, who makes gardens out of the ashes of our former lives. There is purpose to the pain. Trust Him. Keep hope alive. Allow His love to surround and heal you. Praise the Lord for the ultimate sacrifice of His Son, Jesus Christ. Amen!
- Willie Veltkamp