The Silence of Waiting
Your Nightly Prayer
By Candice Lucey
TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE
“Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” - Psalm 30:5
SOMETHING TO PONDER
Winter drags on for a long time in the Southern Interior of British Columbia, where, if it’s not snowing, it’s raining, and the sky looms low and grey much of the time. We rely on object permanence, which Mike Schumann explains: “Object permanence is the awareness that an object continues to exist even when it is not in view." We enjoy sunshine and birds singing for much of spring, summer, and autumn. In winter, we remember the sights and sounds so we can endure the dark, the cold, the silence. Likewise, we know that Jesus is with us even when he seems far away because we have experienced his closeness, and we remember. Often, during the long wait for his return, he seems silent. We want to hear his voice and, if the darkness of suffering is prolonged, we lose hope.
The Saturday between Christ’s death and resurrection must have felt like an eternity of silence for Christ, when he listened for the Father’s voice, but he had turned away from Jesus, who was covered in our sin. But he knew that the silence would be broken. He trusted that God’s plan would be fulfilled, even while he waited in Sheol. Christ’s hope of resurrection life, his faith in the promises of God, can be ours. From the silence of waiting for his return, we proclaim to ourselves and anyone who will listen about his “everlasting dominion that will not pass away, and his kingdom [...] that will never be destroyed”. (Daniel 7:13-14) Maybe we look and sound like fools to a watching world, but “Blessed are those who have not seen and yet have believed.” (John 20:29)
If we are sitting in a waiting room, wondering what the results of the scan will be, remember that we do not wait in Sheol. If we are trying to connect with a loved one who keeps rejecting us, remember that the Father sings over us. We do not ultimately have to endure rejection and death and silence because, during the long Saturday between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, Jesus faced them for us while paying for our sins. Suffering was not the end for him, and neither will it be for us. HE is the final WORD, and his word is this: “Weeping may stay for the night, but rejoicing comes in the morning.” (Psalm 30:5)
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Lord,
When I grieve and suffer, and the situation I face seems to go on forever, and I cannot hear your voice, remind me of Holy Saturday, the day of waiting. Remind me that I do not have to mourn alone, as Christ did. Take me back to the suffering of Christ so I can reflect on and honor it - weep, even, over the agonizing silence of separation he suffered during that Saturday - but also to find reassurance. Let me think about what he went through so I can recognize the weight of his gift to me, a sinner, and take encouragement from that gift. He withstood what I could not, so I would not have to. Father, help me to hold on to the sound of your voice even though I have never heard it; to remember your face even though I have never seen you. By your Holy Spirit, show me how to recognize and remember the solid reality of who you are when despair and doubt loom to snatch away my certainty.
Amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. Sometimes, the Lord seems silent, and your wait seems long, but what does your best friend do when you announce a cancer diagnosis or a death in the family? Your friend silently listens as you weep. After all, when Lazarus died, “Jesus wept”, (John 11:35) offering wordless empathy. Maybe Jesus is waiting until you can handle words again.
2. Resurrection Sunday is coming, but sit in silence on Saturday for a little while and try to imagine the terrible grief of the Son. Even though he knew that God would raise him from the dead, just as he knew he was going to raise Lazarus, Jesus had never been cut off from the Father: this was the worst agony. He suffered in ways we will never understand. Do not skip over this part lightly, but count the cost of sin before celebrating freedom and forgiveness.
3 . Christ’s faith throughout Holy Saturday is the kind of faith the Lord wants to build in us by the process of sanctification. Jesus’ faith is the model we look to when we struggle, when we are poor, hungry, alone, hurting, humiliated, and doubtful. This faith is ours to claim along with every gift given to us. “Every good gift and every perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of lights, with whom there is no variation or shadow due to change.” (James 1:17) We do not manufacture our trust in the Father - we ask God for the gift of faith, which is a good and perfect gift.
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