Christ Church Rockville Lenten Devotion
Job 19:21-27a
Heb. 4:1-16
Rom. 8:1-11
Suffering and hardship are not welcome visitors, yet unfazed, they come as they will. I dread when their ugly heads show up in my life, but I also know that enduring difficult times has often resulted in my spiritual growth and in a closer walk with God. Still, too much suffering is bad for the soul. We need joyful times to keep our light kindled. We need balance. Easier said than done. I need help to keep my perspective on suffering. The good news is that Jesus was pained by the suffering he witnessed all around and tried to alleviate it. Jesus did not want suffering to consume us or to bar our relationship with him. Through his passion, he willingly confronted and experienced the worst suffering imaginable and overcame it. As a day which falls between the inconsolable sorrow of Good Friday and the immeasurable glory of Easter Sunday, Holy Saturday can easily be neglected in our private and corporate spiritual lives. But, it is truly a glorious day on which we recognize that Jesus traveled to the depths of the cosmos in the process of vanquishing sin and death. It is a day on which pain is transformed into joy—for all of us, forevermore.
