You know that feeling of dread you get in the pit of your stomach when you wake up the morning after

something awful happened? Opening your eyes and having it all hit you a second time is almost worse

than the original event itself. "Oh yeah, that happened. This is my reality now,"the dreaded feeling

seems to say.

Every year around Easter, we hear a lot about Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday. Good Friday is

good because Christ died to save us from our sins and death. Resurrection Sunday remains the most

important day in Christian history because Jesus rose from the dead, officially defeating death. But very

little attention is given to Saturday of Holy Week.

Matthew 27:62-66 gives a brief snapshot of what happened on “Easter Saturday.” On that day, the chief

priests and Pharisees asked Pilate to secure the tomb so no one could steal Jesus’ body and trick people

into thinking He had risen from the dead as He said He would. “‘Take a guard,’ Pilate answered. ‘Go,

make the tomb as secure as you know how.’ So they went and made the tomb secure by putting a

seal on the stone and posting the guard…” (v.65)

At this point in the story, I really want to know what the disciples were thinking. Were they hopeful that

something amazing would happen? Or did they wake up on Saturday with a knot of dread in the pits of

their stomachs thinking, “I can’t believe that happened. What are we going to do now?”

We know the disciples were afraid, because before they had seen the risen Christ, they were in a room

together “with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders.” (John 20:19)

Offer a little grace to the disciples and a little grace to yourself. Next time you’re struggling to trust Jesus

with the details of your life, remember that He kept the most important promise ever: the promise He

would die on the cross and rise again three days later, defeating sin and death. Maybe on “Easter

Saturday” the disciples were more than a little worried about what was going to happen next. But our

lack of faith doesn’t change the trustworthiness of Jesus Christ.

The Saturdays of life—the days when we struggle to believe God’s promises and wonder what’s going to

happen next—are tough. But we know that He has already overcome the world, and someday He’s

coming back. Let’s not lose sight of that!

“So Christ, having been offered once to bear the sins of many, will appear a second time, not to deal

with sin but to save those who are eagerly waiting for him.” (Hebrews 9:28)

By Melissa Landon Schnell

Melissa is an editor at automation.com, a member of Immanuel Baptist Church, a cyclist, a book lover,

and a grammar enthusiast. She lives in Lexington with her husband Daykin, dog Zoey, and cat Scooter.