Tuesday, July 25, 2017

A Lifetime of Saturdays

I have been re-reading a book by Susie Davis entitled, "Unafraid:  Trusting God In An Unsafe World" It is her own story of moving out of a life controlled for decades by fear and into a life of trusting God in all circumstances.  In one section of the book she shares an amazing analogy surrounding Easter weekend as Christians speak of it, and how we do life today.

On Good Friday we remember how Jesus suffered and died on the cross while His disciples and His family watched in horror.  On Saturday we remember how they mourned His loss and feared for their own lives........Saturday was a day of "what ifs" and discouragements....fears.  Silence from the tomb.  And then Sunday came~ Jesus rose from the dead and left the tomb!  Victory reigns!  We know this well and base our faith on the Resurrection.




Susie then talked about how she sees Friday as representing the really bad things that come into in our lives.  Things that bring physical, emotional or spiritual trauma and pain.  On those "Fridays" we focus on surviving.  Then Saturday comes and we find ourselves asking "What the heck just happened?" Fear knots our stomach and we worry....we  look for ways to cope, ways to keep it from happening again.  But ALL the worries and fears hold us in the limbo of Saturday, not understanding that Saturday is not a place of wholeness or wellness.  We get stuck in it, and Sunday never comes. Somewhere deep inside we long for the joy of Sunday where God makes all things new, we long for Sunday where resurrection power brings us hope and healing.  Yeah....But how do we get there from a place of fear?   Maybe we just intentionally step into it one day at a time.  During Susie Davis's journey to freedom she realized that she had been living a lifetime of Saturdays.   Fear was controlling her day to day living.  John Hayford once asked, "How would you treat a friend who lies to you as often as your fears do?"  Yeah..........fears can keep us trapped in a lifetime of Saturdays.


Even though I had read this book before, I found myself caught up in the stillness of knowing you have just read something profound, something that is going to reshape your life.  You have this choice, you can look back or look around and be lead to stay in the Saturdays or you can take a leap of faith into Sunday!  And this Friday ~ Saturday~ Sunday cycle?  It will happen often.  It is just part of the broken world we live in, but Sunday is our goal, it is where we step out in trust.  After what Jesus did for us on Good Friday, how can we not help but trust Him!

I confess I have gotten stuck in Saturdays,  the trauma of a "Friday" event bringing to the surface the questions of Saturday...."What the heck just happened?" Joel and I have said it more than once in the past two years, and yet often our search for answers actually holds us captive.  It is when we look to Jesus and remember that Sunday holds victory, that peace reigns.  When we tried to reason, answer or figure out the whys of Friday events, "Sunday" living is far away.


During Susie Davis's journey to freedom from a life of fear, she realized that she had been living a lifetime of Saturdays, while deep inside she hungered for Sundays with Jesus.  There is a great video on YouTube that speaks of Good Friday and Easter Sunday.  The man's words tell the story of Jesus crucifixion, the suffering He endured.  At the end of each sentence spoken of the darkness of that day, the preacher says...."but Sunday's a coming!"  I love that reminder that on the day the covenant split in half, we know that Sunday is coming!  The Resurrection!  The Victory!  It is for us, too.

If you find yourself in the midst of a "Friday" event or situation, there is hope.  The journey from Friday to Sunday is a process we go through.  The opportune words here are "go through".  We  remember how often fear "lies" to us, and we speak God's truth over our situation, reaching for Sunday's victories.  One day at a time.

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