It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
Day 7: Silent Saturday
Saturday
Matthew 27:62-66 NLT
62 The next day, on the Sabbath, the leading priests and Pharisees went to see Pilate. 63 They told him, “Sir, we remember what that deceiver once said while he was still alive: ‘After three days I will rise from the dead.’ 64 So we request that you seal the tomb until the third day. This will prevent his disciples from coming and stealing his body and then telling everyone he was raised from the dead! If that happens, we’ll be worse off than we were at first.” 65 Pilate replied, “Take guards and secure it the best you can.” 66 So they sealed the tomb and posted guards to protect it.
The silence is deafening. The tomb is sealed. The people are in their homes. The disciples are hiding, fearful, and sad. They wonder how it all happened so quickly. Just a few days ago, they were entering Jerusalem to the sound of hosanna songs, "Blessed is He who comes in the name of the Lord!" Those songs are forgotten, replaced by a chilling one: "Let Him be crucified! May His blood be upon us and upon our children!"
Silence returns. All is still. The man who troubled the region no longer exists. His voice—His enemies think—has been silenced once and for all.
Like the disciples, perhaps you find yourself in a place of silence, wondering if God is at work… grappling with doubts about His activity in what seems to be an echo of divine slumber. It seems as if all doors have closed. The tomb is sealed, and there is no more hope.
That's what Satan wants you to believe. But things aren't always as they seem. NO! God is working even in silence. Silence is not synonymous with absence.
"It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD," says the prophet in Lamentations 3:26. Silence reminds us of who we are and who He is. It reminds us of the importance of waiting, of trusting, of believing that His plan is greater.
But how difficult it is! It's easier to walk by sight, not by faith. We want to hear God's voice in a great and mighty wind, in an earthquake we can feel, in a fire we can see. But no. It is there, in the silence, where we can hear the still, small voice of God reminding us that He is in control, that today is Saturday, yet tomorrow will be Sunday.
REFLECT: Do you feel God's silence? In what areas of your life do you feel this silence? What response do you need from God? How can you begin to live more by faith? What do you need to remember from God to help you move forward? How do you feel God is working in your life today, even if you haven't received the answer or miracle you've been hoping for?
Take a few minutes to think about this and right your reflections in a notebook or in your notes app.