Let’s get ready for an incredible word of encouragement in week three of our series Mourning to Morning. Sophomore Maddison Voisin is owning this week and encouraging us on how to make it through night seasons of waiting. Let’s learn how to wait well and receive what awaits us on the other side!
In our walk as Christians, many times we may be waiting on God in what feels like “night.” The disciples knew this feeling well. They understood the waiting feeling during night. Luke 23:44 says, “It was now about the sixth hour, and there was darkness over the whole land until the ninth hour, while the sun’s light failed. And the curtain of the temple was torn in two.” The darkness that came over the land during Christ’s crucifixion was one never experienced by these people before. Utter darkness. In Matthew, it is recorded that during the ninth hour during this darkness, Jesus would have said, “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me?” (Matthew 27:46) Even Christ experienced the grief of this waiting on God. Yet what was to come was far greater than what ever was. Christ resurrected.
Many times in our lives, God may give us promises that we don’t see immediately. But we know JOY COMES IN THE MORNING. (Ps 30:5)
So what must we do in the night? How do we make it to this ever waiting morning?
1. REMIND YOURSELF - Many times, we get so distracted by the darkness of the night that we forget what God has promised us. Your why is how you will make it through. Remember why you are doing what you are doing. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus had to remind Himself why He was doing what He was doing. He was going to the cross, not just for our salvation, but in obedience to God. It was about more than just what He could do for others. Christ’s work on the cross was the ultimate display of obedience to God’s commands and purpose for His life.
2. PRAY AND FAST - Nothing sharpens your spirit quite like prayer and fasting. Jesus demonstrates this behavior of constant prayer all throughout the Gospels, especially leading up to His crucifixion. When we find Him in the Garden of Gethsemane surrendering to God’s will, Jesus was praying. He was under great stress, one can only imagine how vast. The Bible notes that Christ was so nervous, He was sweating blood. Christ’s remedy for such anxiety during the waiting was prayer. In many other portions of scripture, we see the power when fasting accompanies our prayer. In the Old Testament, one example of this is King Jehoshaphat. To prepare for battle, he fasted. “Then Jehoshaphat was afraid and set his face to seek the Lord, and proclaimed a fast throughout all Judah.” 2 Chronicles 20:3 ESV Later in this chapter, as the nation is praying and fasting, God spoke to them. He told them not to be afraid, that the battle was not theirs, but God’s. He told them that He would fight for them. This only happened during their praying and fasting. Prayer and fasting provides an opportunity for us to realign ourselves and create space to draw near to God. Times of darkness occur when we need the light of Christ in our lives most. Prayer and fasting can be an amazing tool to access the immense light that Christ has for us.
3. GET COMMUNITY - The disciples went through probably the worst weekend ever recorded in history – the waiting from Friday to Sunday. What was key to them seeing Christ on the other side was community. We see that when it was discovered that Jesus was resurrected, it was not one disciple alone. Mary and Mary Magdalene were together, mourning their friend, tending to his grave. This is when they found the tomb empty. After this, Jesus met them together to reveal Himself!
In Luke’s account of the resurrection, he includes that Jesus met up with some of the disciples on the Road to Emmaus. They were mourning His death together. Once they made it to the town, they were eating together and Jesus revealed Himself to them.
Night comes for all at some point, but it doesn’t have to be completely dark. In our waiting on God, if we use these key tools, we can make it through. God did not promise us a life lacking suffering, but He did give us tools like these to act as little lamps in our darkest moments.
So who do we make it through the night?
WE:
RESURRECTION IS ON THE OTHER SIDE!
