EXPLORING HOLY SATURDAY

Where is God when heaven is silent?

On Holy Saturday, it is not Jesus but we who must ask the “Where?” question:

“Where on earth are You, God, when Your Son lies dead in the grave?”

On Holy Saturday, the hopes and prayers of every disciple lay dashed and broken in the grave. But God did nothing. Said nothing. No sound but the buzzing of flies around the corpse of the Son.


Day 31: God’s Presence in God’s Word

Pause

“Answer me, lord, out of the goodness of your love; in your great mercy turn to me. Do not hide your face from your servant; answer me quickly, for I am in trouble. Come near and rescue me.” - Psalm 69:16-18

Reflect

  • Bible: “My God, my God, why have you forsaken me? Why are you so far from saving me, so far from my cries of anguish? … A pack of villains encircles me; they pierce my hands and my feet. All my bones are on display; people stare and gloat over me. They divide my clothes among them and cost lots for my garment.” - Psalm 22:1,16-18

  • Book: “Far from abandoning the Word of God when He felt abandoned by God, Jesus found the Scriptures, more poignant and more pertinent than ever. … When God is silent, the galvanizing revelations that formally came to our life through the Bible, and through the ‘still small voice’ may seem a little more than a distant memory, but this does not make them any less true. In fact, when God is silent, it becomes especially important to feed vicariously on the words He spoke back in the day, when life was an easy conversation of two-way prayer; when the sermons seemed to be aimed directly at our heart, and the Bible really was the book we wanted by our bed” - (p. 181)

Ask

  • Have you ever felt like God was hiding from you? Explain.

  • When you are in trouble, are you able to wait patiently upon God or do you find yourself wanting a quick resolution?

  • Where else in scripture do you find Psalm 22:1 repeated? What might this mean for us when we experience suffering?

  • Has frustration or anger ever tempted you to abandon the Word of God?

  • Is it a sin to feel forsaken or abandoned by God? Why or why not?

  • When was the last time that you heard God’s ‘still small voice’? Describe what that experience was like?

  • Do you feel that sermons today are aimed directly at your heart?

  • What is your recipe for a ‘good sermon’?

  • Is there a particular Bible verse that has been meaningful to you for a long time?

  • Take your favorite Bible verse and change it into a prayer.

Yield

A fourteenth-century prayer of trust from Thomas a’ Kempis:

“O Lord my God, be not far from me. O my God, hasten to help me, for varied thoughts and great fears have risen up within me, afflicting my soul. How shall I escape them unharmed? How shall I dispel them? … This is my hope and my only comfort - to fly to You in all tribulation, to confide in You, and to call on You from the depths of my heart and to await patiently for Your consolation.” Amen.



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