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There's a Gift in the Silence

"Now there was a good and righteous man named Joseph. He was a member of the Jewish high council, but he had not agreed with the decision and actions of the other religious leaders. He was from the town of Arimathea in Judea, and he was waiting for the Kingdom of God to come. He went to Pilate and asked for Jesus’ body. Then he took the body down from the cross and wrapped it in a long sheet of linen cloth and laid it in a new tomb that had been carved out of rock. This was done late on Friday afternoon, the day of preparation, as the Sabbath was about to begin. As his body was taken away, the women from Galilee followed and saw the tomb where his body was placed. Then they went home and prepared spices and ointments to anoint his body. But by the time they were finished the Sabbath had begun, so they rested as required by the law." (Luke‬ ‭23‬:‭50-56‬ NLT)

That Saturday so long ago must've brought utter confusion and disbelief to those who followed Jesus and believed that He was the King they had desperately waited for...He was the plan for their people. But now that plan was gone! So on this Day of Preparation, the silence must've been deafening as they watched their Savior be brought down from the cross and placed in a borrowed tomb. How they must have longed to hear His voice just one more time. They didn't know that Sunday would bring the plan for their people to completion. They only knew the silence and their grief.

Have you found yourself in a season of silence? Perhaps the plan that you thought was going to make things right for you, your family or your loved ones hasn't happened. And in the confusion and disbelief you are left with nothing but silence and grief much like Jesus' followers. I find it so interesting that Holy Saturday was known as The Day of Preparation for the Jewish people. I believe that God allows you and I to find ourselves in days and seasons of preparation when our best-laid plans don't succeed. He wants to develop something in and through us as we wait. Just like Jesus' followers we don't get see the end of the story...but because we have the hope of a risen Savior we can trust that there is a gift waiting in the silence!

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