That Wasn't The End
Friday is good because Sunday's coming
The quotes in today’s post are from the song “Sunday’s Coming” by Phil Whickham:
A great light dawns in Galilee
Some say mad man
Some say King
Wonder working rebel priest
Jesus Christ the Nazarene
He knew well what it would take
To free us all from sin and grave
A perfect man would have to die
And only He could pay that price
Easter 2022 was a much different picture from today…
My husband of 18 years and I were separated…we hadn’t spoken for over a month. We had been separated since October 2021 and by this point, his relationship with both me and the kids was pretty non existent. I was juggling raising two teenagers alone. Additionally, I was attempting to make the business we both owned survive, and that attempt was not working. The business was sinking.
I was broken. I was penniless. I was hopeless.
Just eight months earlier, my dad had passed away after a long battle with Parkinson’s Disease. I missed him terribly. I was also so scared. I was starting to see that not only had I lost my dad, but I was going to lose our business, and I was alone, trying to figure out how to save it. Not only did I need to save my business, but my family was in pieces, and I knew that needed saving too.
It felt like the end.
And in a way, it was. My marriage rebounded for a month or so in May 2022, but shortly after that it was downhill…filled with toxicity and abuse. Neither of us was healthy. We needed a miracle…but mostly, we needed Jesus. The truth was: the life we were living had to end if either of us were going to get better.
Towards the end of 2022, as our relationship continued to sour and as our family in general continued to decline emotionally, I started to think maybe I was dying. I had gained thirty pounds, could barely get out of bed, yet despite all that, I spent most nights eating and drinking excessively, attempting to drown out the intense pain I felt and the overall grief that was pulsating through me.
Friday's good 'cause Sunday is coming
Don't lose hope 'cause Sunday is coming
Devil, you're done, you better start running
Friday's good 'cause Sunday is coming
So He let those soldiers take Him in
As His friend betrayed Him with a kiss
There before the mocking crowd
Like a lamb to the slaughter didn't make a sound
Then He carried that cross to Calvary
And He shed His blood to set us free
As the nails went in and the sky went dark
The redemption of the world was on His heart
I did not know this was my “Friday”…
This weekend is Easter weekend, and today is Good Friday. If you are familiar with the story of Jesus’ death, bear with me as I catch those who are not up to speed: Jesus was believed to be the perfect Messiah that was promised to the Israelites, yet instead of delivering his people, he was crucified on a cross alongside murders and liars. The followers of Jesus were heartbroken, how was their promise so brutally and suddenly cut off? They were in despair…did they believe wrong? God said He was sending a Messiah and they believed Jesus was him, but why did God allow him to die? What was He doing?
But then… three days later… Jesus rose from the grave. As promised, He conquered death and the grave and then appeared to his disciples showing them He was alive and well and that He would be sending His spirit to live with them. For centuries the Israelites had been offering sacrifices to be free from their sins, but now Jesus became the ultimate sacrifice and anyone who believed on him would live FREE from sin and death, with no need to offer a sacrifice to save them. But this whole thing was confusing to the disciples. Even though Scripture told them this would happen, they didn’t think it would happen like this.
Friday's good 'cause Sunday is coming
Don't lose hope 'cause Sunday is coming
Devil, you're done, you better start running
Friday's good 'cause Sunday is coming
Then He breathed His last
And bowed His head
The Son of God and man was dead
With bloody hands
Tears on their face
They laid Him down
Inside that grave
But that wasn't the end
That wasn't the end
That wasn't the end
Let me tell you what happened next
What they didn’t know: the Friday He died was not the end… it was just the beginning!
You can read the story here: Matthew 27:1-56, Mark 15:1-41, Luke 23:1-49, and John 19:1-37
And just like the followers of Jesus, when my Friday came, I had no idea that Sunday was coming. I was grieving the loss of my life, just like the disciples were grieving the loss of the Messiah they thought was there to save them. I had no idea, like they had no idea, that the Friday was just a beginning to something miraculous and beautiful. The pain I was feeling was deep, it seemed that no future could ever shine bright enough to heal me.
But it did.
The women came before the dawn
To find that stone already gone
When they looked inside, the angel said
"Why you looking for the living among the dead?"
He's alive
He's alive
Hallelujah, He's alive
Give Him praise
Lift Him high
Hallelujah, He's alive
It took some time, but slowly He renewed my life. My Friday turned into a Sunday one small step at a time. Today? I have joy. I have peace. My Sunday came full of love and life. No, my marriage was not saved, but I was. The Lord, in His mercy stripped me of everything that was encumbering me and I came back more full of life than I have ever been.
Friday is good because Sunday is coming!
He's alive
He's alive
Hallelujah, He's alive
Give Him praise
Lift Him high
Hallelujah, He's alive
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Don't lose hope 'cause Sunday's coming
Hallelujah, hallelujah
Now Jesus reigns
Upon the throne
All Heaven sings
To Him alone
We watch and wait
Like a bride for a groom
Oh, church arise
He's coming soon
Friends, the hopelessness I felt on my “Friday”, turned into the joy the disciples felt when their “Sunday” arrived. If you are in a place where you think all hope is lost, I want you to know that you Friday will have a Sunday. Regardless if you’ve been watching me for years or if you found me online and you are new my to my story, I want to tell you this: This is not the end. HE IS ALIVE. And that means you can be too. His death was for a greater purpose, just as my “death” was meant to rebuild me. The Friday, where He was killed and laid in a tomb, had to happen so Sunday, where He rose from the dead, could take place. The dark place you might be feeling right now, is just the beginning to the hope you will feel when your Sunday arrives. I promise you.
He is alive, and you can be too.
If you are in pain and hurting this Easter weekend, I want to encourage you to find an Easter morning service at a church to attend this weekend. Listen to the message of Jesus raising from the dead. Listen to His promise of “It is finished”… He did exactly what he promised He would, even though the disciples couldn’t see it, just like you probably can’t see it now. But you will… your Sunday is coming.
Press the image below to hear the whole song. I love you Friends! I am praying for you! Happy Easter weekend! xo
