The Day After – The Day Before


It was finished. The One they had followed for 3 1/2 years had been crucified and placed in a tomb.

All they had hoped for had died on that cross along with the long awaited Messiah. It was the day after His death. It was the day before His resurrection.

Would they remember what He said?

“And He began to teach them that the Son of Man must suffer many things, and be rejected by the elders and chief priests and scribes, and be killed, and after three days rise again.” Mark 8:31

Would they believe Him?

Recently, our pastor, Bryan Lamoureux, preached a message entitled “From the Promise to the Payoff”. It’s that place in between what God has promised He will do and the fulfillment of that promise.

It’s the place where we must choose to believe God, even when we don’t see anything happening.

Some of you are there today. Between the promise and the payoff. It’s the day after…or the week after…or the year after the promise and you’re still waiting to see that thing fulfilled.

But, as Pastor Bryan so aptly put it, between the promise and the payoff there is always a process. That’s where the disciples were as they waited to see if Jesus was who He said He was and if He would do what He said He would do.

That’s where they had to grapple with their faith and choose to believe God even when it didn’t seem like He was doing anything. Even when it appeared that all hope was gone.

But then came the morning. The rock had been miraculously rolled away; grave clothes placed carefully where His body once lay. The tomb was empty.

Frantically, the two Mary’s began searching for the body of the One who told them He would rise, when an angel appeared and told them, “He is not here; for He is risen, as He said.”

Today is the day after – but it’s also the day before. But Jesus is who He says He is and He does what He says He will do and Sunday is coming, sweet friend!

Tomorrow we celebrate His resurrection. Through it, Jesus secured the eternal justification for all who would believe in Him – for all who would trust Him as Lord and Savior.

If you’re somewhere in the process between the promise and the payoff, I want to encourage you to trust Him. He is who He said He is and He will do what He says He will do.

Some two thousand years ago, Sunday morning came and it changed everything.

In your life – in your circumstances – please know…please trust – Sunday morning is coming and it will change everything! You can trust Him!

I’d love to hear from you! Are you somewhere in the process and holding on by a thread? Do you need someone to pray for you while you wait for your own Sunday morning miracle?

I’d love to share part of my week with you. You can receive semi-daily devos in your inbox by clicking this link. Or you can click on the Google or Networkedblog link to receive it in your feeder.

2 Comments

  1. Beautiful, Stephanie! And yes, I am in that nebulous in-between…between a promise of healing and that gleam of Sonlight of fulfillment. May you be blessed with a special touch of the Lord's presence for this Easter.

  2. Lynn ~ Yesterday, I was preparing to speak in Texas and I just wrote that what we think is the waiting room, God sees as our training ground – part of the journey – just as important as the outcome.

    I'm praying with you for complete healing and that you begin to start a new chapter in which you will be able to use your healing as a testimony to the greatness and the grace of God!

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