It’s the day between Good Friday and Easter. It’s the day between the remembrance of Jesus’ horrible death on the cross and His resurrection to new life.

It’s the day in between earthly sorrow and eternal hope.

In between.

It is hard to imagine not knowing what comes next in the story. The resurrection of Jesus has been celebrated for centuries now. But on the day after His crucifixion, the closest followers of Jesus did not yet know the outcome.

What was it like for the disciples to watch their Savior and friend take His final breath on this earth? What was it like to not know that His death was not the final verdict? 

Would they hold out hope of what Jesus foretold about raising to life again? Would they give in to doubt and give up?

Rejoicing was on the horizon, just as Jesus had told them. It is as if their joy was made even brighter after all hope had been lost. Jesus rose from the dead, Jesus became the ultimate fulfillment of hope. Darkness nor death could not take that away.

So as we sit in this day in between, in preparation for Easter Sunday and in contemplation of the cross that Jesus endured, may we dwell on this same hope. All is not right in the world, perhaps all is not right in your individual world…yet Jesus made a way to overcome the world. He knows our pain, He knows our disappointment, and He leans in.

He is with us. He is for us.

So hang on through the darkness, joy is coming.

And joy has a name…Jesus.

Written by Guest Contributor Melissa Henderson