Ever had a season where it seems one bad thing after another keeps happening?
It can get to a point where you’re afraid to even answer the phone because you think it will be more bad news.
Shakespeare said, “Sorrows never come as single spies, but in battalions.”
Sometimes it can start to feel that way.
You’re struggling to keep your marriage together and then you find out you have to work mandatory overtime…your dryer just went out…your car is making a funny noise…the principal sent a note home and wants to speak with you next week…your doctor called and wants to run more tests…your accountant says you owe more taxes…on top of it all your mom slipped and fell.
What else could go wrong?
In those crushing moments it’s easy to wonder if God cares. Is He there? Why is He letting it all spin out of control?
We can start to wonder if God understands suffering at all. We think if He did understand He wouldn’t let it continue like this.
Let’s pause right there…I want to ask you a question.
What’s the most recognized image of Christianity around the world? What symbol would instantly identify a person as a Christian across the globe?
A cross.
It’s not an image of a fat guy smiling with his legs crossed. It’s an image of pain and suffering. A clue that God himself understands sorrow in a very deep way. He understands evil in a deeper way than you and I will ever know.
The image of the cross isn’t the full picture of our faith because the story doesn’t end with pain, suffering, and defeat. No, God’s Son rose victorious over death, hell, and the grave. The full picture has to include Easter. The full picture has to include the resurrection.
It’s the very reason Easter is a celebration and not a funeral.
The story wasn’t over at the cross of shame and suffering. Instead it made way for the best part of your story and mine.
No matter how many battalions of problems you face they will never overwhelm the One who beat death.
God knows a thing or two about suffering, when you think He doesn’t just remember the cross.
God took the most evil thing in the world, the crucifixion of the most perfect person to ever live, and used it to bring about the salvation of everyone who acknowledges Jesus as the Christ.
If God could do that imagine the good He can bring out of your pain.
In the Easter story Friday ends in suffering and death, but that’s not the end of the story.
We know how the story ends. We know what happens on Sunday morning.
But everyone who was living the first Easter didn’t know what was coming. They thought Friday was the end. They had no clue how everything would change on Sunday.
You may be experiencing your own Friday of pain and suffering, but hang on God’s not finished with the story.
I also pray that you will understand the incredible greatness of God’s power for us who believe him. This is the same mighty power that raised Christ from the dead and seated him in the place of honor at God’s right hand in the heavenly realms. –Ephesians 1:19-20 NLT
