DARK DAYS ARE FOR HIS GLORY!
(by E. H. Maze)
Chapter 9
Sunday’s coming
I read the great sermon, “It’s Friday, but Sunday’s coming!” years ago. It was basically about the fact that Jesus was crucified, dead and buried on Friday and how the devil, thinking that he had won, rejoiced. When Saturday came the disciple's began their day of mourning and reflection; an unknown future plagued by fear and rejection. The disciples and Jesus’ followers, including those who believed in Him, had placed all their hopes in His setting up a kingdom on earth. They had left everything behind – burned a lot of bridges. Now, Jesus was dead, buried. What would they do? Three days had passed, there hopes and dreams now vanished. Notwithstanding some of their dark insincerity causing them to think of themselves instead of mourning over their lost "Saviour" and friend, there were those who truly felt "lost" and wondered about Him - missing Him as if He had been a brother or sister who had died. But, He was more than that to them. He was their King! What would they do now?
Could they go back? I guess many of them thought about it;
wanting to go back to their nets; to go back to their struggles. Now that their Saviour was not there with
them, they were lost and hopeless – in great despair.
Until Sunday came along and word quickly spread that Jesus was alive. Hope sprang up, faith revived.
Not to minimize the “fact” of the resurrection, the “truth” behind it,
for you and me, will always be our guiding light: It may seem like Friday (or Saturday) now,
but Sunday’s coming! The light will
shine again. All the hope that you lost
will be awakened – in an instant. You
will be ashamed that you allowed yourself to get in a bad place, but it won’t matter anymore. All your shame and fear, and tears, will be
washed away.
Those things will not be
washed away when you get to heaven. Not
this Sunday. But, right now! For you see, Sunday has already come. You are Sunday! The fullness of the living God is alive
within you. All you have to do is wake
up and smell the coffee (or roses). You
are Sunday to yourself. And, you are
Sunday to everyone you meet. They are
suffering in their own trials of despair and dying – they are enduring the
silence and sadness of their personal resolve in order to make it through one
more day. But, you have come to bring
them life. You are Sunday!
You are "Sunday" because Christ lives in you. He is risen, so you have risen as well. The same power that raised Christ from the grave, lives right there in your own heart.
“How can I be Sunday to them
when I still feel like Friday night to myself?’ you ask. Well, if you have to ask that question then I
suggest that you have not been listening.
Start the book over again would be my first suggestion. But, if you don’t want to start at the
beginning, let me explain it one more time:
Are you a Babe? Rejoice in that
care that God provides for you from those around you who are called to nurture
you. Are you a young person? Get excited about what God has planned for
you today – whatever your hands find to do, do it with all your might. Are you an adult? Nothing you have done in the past has killed
you, yet. Keep going. Don’t keep sinning, because it will kill
you. But, recognize that God has brought
you this far – not to take you back again.
Take pleasure in these years.
You have heard the expression,
“I wish I knew then what I know now.” I
don’t wish I knew then what I know now.
I much enjoyed not knowing things when I started walking. The discovery was wonderful. My youthful days were filled with doing all
sorts of things that I wouldn’t have done if I had known better. I don’t think I would have done some things I
should have done, had I known whether I should have done them or not.
Fridays come and go. You will always have moments when things get
you down and out. Always! Unless you are some sort of super-saint. I remember the couple who claimed that in 50 years
of marriage they never had a fight or an argument. I heard them speaking after my wife and I had
been married only 3 months and had just come from the worst of our many
arguments. That couple couldn’t help us
at all. First of all, I didn’t believe
them - yeah, right, no arguments in fifty years of marriage! And, secondly, if it were true, how could
they help us get over our continual arguing?
They couldn’t because they didn’t have any experience.
Again, Fridays come. Do you know what our testimony is? Well, we have been married over 22 years and,
for several years, most days were "Friday." The two of us have blown it so many times
that we actually sit and give God the glory for how magnificent His grace has
been over the years. I think I would
rather have grown to love my wife in all her glory and ugliness through twenty
years of difficulty than to have never raised my voice at her (or her at
me). There is something especially
beautiful about the woman who loves me in spite of my ugliness.
But, Sunday came to our
marriage one day. I wish I could tell
you what day of the week that it happened, but I don’t really know. It’s as if we went to the tomb one day to
worship our sorrows and found the tomb empty.
Our love for each other, and faith and confidence in each other, had
succeeded over our positioning ourselves to be the center of our respective
universes. We were helpless in the
decision. We just lay there dead and the
next moment our marriage was resurrected. It is only by the grace and power of God
that our
marriage was given new life.
I’m still not willing to give anyone credit but God.
How can you have this resurrected power? There is nothing you can do. Nothing!
Okay, there is one thing you can do:
Keep reading.
Oh, by the way, I bet you are wondering where the miracle is in this chapter!
Here is Your Miracle: Only God can make you rise up from the death of your past and the fear of your future to bring Sunday’s brilliance. Only God can bring life to your circumstances and your character. Only God can bring joyful confidence to this new day.
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Please let me know if you have read (and enjoyed) this chapter by sending me a quick email to: ehylandmaze@aol.com
bless you.....................................Eugene H. Maze
This chapter and all chapters related to this website book entitled "Dark Days" (copyright 2004) was written and published by Eugene H. Maze. No portion of this book may be copied, sold or distributed either by electronic or other means in any fashion whatsoever without the expressed written permission of the author. Permission for distribution may be obtained by contacting the author at ehylandmaze@aol.com. Links to this and all previous and subsequent pages of this book entitled "Dark Days" may be distributed freely without permission.