OUR NEXT CHAPTER
TODAY’S SCRIPTURE
No wonder my heart is glad, and I rejoice. My body rests in safety. For you will not leave my soul among the dead or allow your holy one to rot in the grave.
Psalms 16:9-10 NLT
TODAY’S THOUGHT
Today is Saturday—the day between the sorrow of crucifixion and the joy of resurrection. We don’t know much about what happened on Saturday. Jesus was crucified and placed in a borrowed tomb. On Sabbath (Saturday) the Jews rested. It had to be a day of anxiety and fear for the followers of Jesus. Their hopes and dreams had appeared to be crushed as Jesus was nailed to a cross. They watched Jesus declare, “It is finished.” Then they saw Him die. David had written a thousand years earlier about this moment. In Acts, chapter two, after the resurrection of Jesus and outpouring of the Holy Spirit, Peter would use Psalm 16 in his sermon. He would tell everyone that David’s words referred to Jesus. They were a promise that Jesus would not stay in the grave. On that Saturday two thousand years ago the disciples forgot the words of David. They were not waiting in anticipation of a resurrection. They were living in fear of what was coming next. Jesus had tried to prepare them, but they never got the full message. In our personal lives there are times when it seems death has won. Our dreams have died. Our hopes are gone. Our future is uncertain. We are living in fear, anxiety, and worry. The unknown of tomorrow seems to overwhelm us. This is when we need to take a lesson from David—we can learn to be glad in what appears to be death because we know a resurrection is coming. Jesus had said that unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies it remains alone. But once it dies it bears much fruit (John 12:24). For those of us who are followers of Christ, death is preparation for a resurrection. It is a pathway to a higher level of living. It is God’s door to our next chapter. That is why we can rejoice on Saturday—we know that Sunday is coming.
TODAY’S PRAYER
Holy Spirit help me to always see my Saturday’s as You see them. Help me to reject fear, anxiety, and worry and march confidently into my resurrection.
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