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Listen while you read: "Were You There"1 (Lyrics) |
Think back to the last time you experienced a thunderstorm. Think of the lightning, and then the thunder — sometimes, a low rumbling sound a long way off, and other times, a loud, terrifying CRACK when the storm is near. What did you experience in the time between the lightning and the thunder?
Or think of a time, perhaps a long time ago, when you had to sit an examination, and then wait before you received your grade. What did you feel in the time between? Or perhaps you have been blessed enough to have found a life partner, someone you would like to marry, and it was up to you to propose. What went through your mind once you'd asked, "Will you marry me?" Try to recall — or imagine — what it was or would be like while you waited for that hoped-for answer of "Yes!"
Or perhaps you've had to have medical tests done and have had to wait for the results. In some cases, these could literally be a question of life and death, and there is nothing you can do to hurry the results along or change their outcome.
The time between is special. It's a time like no other. It's a time of anticipation, of worry, of hope, and of fear — a time of waiting.
Psalm 130:5-6a – I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning. (NIV)
Psalm 27:13-14 – I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. (NIV)
Just imagine how the disciples felt in the time between Jesus' death on Good Friday and His resurrection on Easter Sunday: grief, pain, disillusionment, loss of the hope that they had put in the Messiah, and fear of recrimination from the Jews. Don't ignore all those emotions, for they are real, and they are important at Easter time. Don't avoid them. Face them. Meditate on them. Pray on them. All those emotions are part of the Easter story: from staying with the Lord in Gethsemane, to watching His betrayal and trial, to weeping in anguish at the foot of the cross, to the emptiness and loss on Saturday, to the miraculous glory of His holy resurrection on Sunday. All are part of the Easter story. All are part of your own personal journey as a follower of Christ, as you live through your personal times of anticipation, worry, hope, fear, and waiting.
Don't avoid the time between. Open your heart. Don't lose your faith. Let your Lord use that time to enrich your understanding of His resurrection victory and to deepen your faith in Christ.
Prayer: Holy and precious God, thank You for all the parts of the Easter story, and especially for the time between. Help us to see our own time of waiting as a gift from You — a holy gift. Help us to use this time to deepen our understanding of You and Your purpose for us. We pray these things in the name of Your Son, our Saviour, Jesus the Christ. Amen.
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Saturday, May 18, 2024 – In North Africa — Living in North Africa we get so used to hearing the call to prayer it becomes like background noise and sometimes I don't hear it anymore. I am challenged by the fact that some Muslims are so committed to pray that they go to the mosque 5 times a day. Would you consider, with me, setting your alarm to go off at 3:00 every day and pray for these three things: 5 families to come to know Christ, 3 people for us to read scripture with,1 new church plant.
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Thank you. Good writing. Happy Easter.
Thanks for the good word, Scott. Happy Easter.
AMEN, Scott, and thank you.
(Texas)
Good thoughts Scott!
Blessed Easter.
Thank you, Scott, for reminding us to cherish the times of waiting, the in between times. Blessings.
Hi Scott
Thank you for helping to me to understand more deeply “the time in between”.
I hope you have an amazing revelation on Easter Sunday morning!
Praise to our Lord and Saviour, Jesus the Christ.
Dear Scott,
Thank you for “The Time Between.” It fits so well with my feelings right now.
I was at a very precious service Friday morning. It left me feeling what I expressed to the lady sitting beside me in church, “Now we need Easter Sunday more than ever.” I await tomorrow morning to leap over the death and experience the resurrection once more tomorrow morning.
Yet I feel like I have already, in a kind of way, for years, walked in the presence of Jesus on the Emmaus Road. Thank God for Jesus’ appearances after his resurrection.
Keep writing.
Greetings Scott,
Thanks for this morning’s devotional. Yes, the “time in between” can be frustrating, worrisome and anxious as we wait for answers and so often we get overly impatient instead of just letting go and know that it is all in the Lord’s hands and timing. Human frailty for sure.
That’s where the strength of our faith really shows up and at those times I find myself praying earnestly for patience and feel the peace and comfort of our Lord’s presence.
Blessings to you this Easter,
(B.C.)
Thank you, Scott, for reminding us that so much of our lives could fit into this time frame you call “the time between” or simply called waiting.
We pray, we believe, and we wait for the Lord’s answer, but the waiting can so often be agonizing as in the case of a loved one struggling to live through a serious illness, especially if it is our child.
This is when the trusting must become a reality for us. We are reminded not to wait for a crisis but daily commit ourselves to trust in the One who is our Lord and Saviour.