The In Between

Today is the day in between the horrific, intentional death of Jesus and the hope that we know is coming tomorrow.  It is just like in a movie, when the viewer knows the plot and the background story and even what is going to happen, but the characters portrayed in the movie do not. I know that Sunday is coming.  I know that Jesus rises from the dead forever satisfying our debt to God and the penalty of our sin.  I know that.  I know the hope of the resurrection.  

But today, I put myself in the shoes of Jesus’ disciples. Jesus’ mom. Jesus’ friends.  Those who had just witnessed his death.  While he stated that he would destroy the temple and raise it up in 3 days, I don’t think his followers or his family understood what that meant. They had just witnessed their beloved friend suffer and die a horrible death.  They had to still be in shock of the past few days.  They had to be in despair.  They were also fearful that they were next. They were in the in between of tragedy and hope.  They did not know the end of the story quite yet.  The in between is the period of time when something horrible happens and we don’t know how the story ends.  On the Saturday in between, their hearts were broken, in anguish.  

I think a lot of us experience this in between stage.  When something in our lives throws us off balance and then we are reeling with emotion, pain, fear, doubt.  We don’t know how long the in between is. For some it is a few moments, for others it is years.  Whether your tragic news is cancer, a loss, an accident, a job loss, a death, a broken relationship, a hurt, an injury the in between is the time between the initial loss and the way around or through it. I have always believed that not knowing is worse than knowing.  Once I know the path I need to take I can plan, problem solve and use my resources.  But sometimes the in between space is where we lean into the truth and hope we know but can not see.  The in between is where we hope for hope because we can’t see a way through it.  During the in between, we need to rest in WHO God is, knowing he has us in every season.

What I have learned in this life is that pain is inevitable.  It is part of the curse.  It is the consequences of sin.  Sometimes our own sin, sometimes others sin and sometimes it is just because we live in a sin filled, broken world. Even when we don’t know the outcome, we can trust in God that all things (even the hard things) work together for our good according to God’s will. God had a plan of restoration and redemption.  But Jesus had to die to fulfill the payment of sin.  But God knew in the in between, that Jesus would rise again.  Forever conquering sin, shame and defeat.  God knew in the in between that HOPE would be restored.  That relationship would be restored.  God knew the end of the story.  God knows the end of your story too.

No matter what you are going through right now in your life.  God has you.  He has you before your struggle.  He has you after your struggle.  He certainly has you in the in between.  Rest in him.  Trust in him.  Lean into his truths.  No matter what you are going through, two things I know.  1. You are LOVED.  2. God has a purpose and a plan for your life. Because Sunday is coming.  Hope is right around the corner.  In the end God wins, I encourage you to be on his team!