Silent Saturday - Trusting God in the Waiting

Trusting God In the Waiting
Matthew 27:62-66, Luke 23:56, John 19:38-42

Good Morning BFB,

Today feels quiet. The cross is behind us. The tomb is sealed. And all of creation seems to be holding its breath. We are Ok. As we make our way to Resurrection Sunday we have now entered into Silent Saturday.  Silent Saturday is often called the "silent day" of Holy Week.  It is the day between the devastation of the crucifixion and the miracle of the resurrection.
For the followers of Jesus, it must have felt like everything had ended. Their Savior was gone. Their hopes were buried. All they could do was wait and trust that somehow God was still working. Wow! I don't know about you but that's is where I find myself sometimes.
In fact I find myself there often. To be sure, you all know I am someone who does not like to wait. But what if I told you that very thought has convicted me this entire Holy Week, and even more today. I just want to get to Resurrection, but God is asking can you trust me while you wait. Not only do I want you to wait, but I want to know if you can wait when it feels like I am silent. I believe the scriptural readings for today give us 3 important lessons to learn during silent waiting:

1. When It Feels Like All Is Lost
Matthew 27:62–66 tells us that the religious leaders asked Pilate to place guards at Jesus’ tomb. They feared His disciples might steal the body. But even more, they feared that His words might somehow come true. What they didn’t realize is that no stone, no guard, and no fear could stop the promises of God from being fulfilled.

What I'm Thinking Today:
It’s hard to stand at the sealed tomb of your hopes. It's painful when everything you've trusted God for seems dead or out of reach. Like the disciples on that Saturday, we sometimes find ourselves staring at situations that feel final — dreams buried, prayers unanswered, hearts broken.
But the good news of Silent Saturday is this: what feels final to us is never final to God. His promises are bigger than any grave, stronger than any seal, and more faithful than any fear. When all feels lost, faith says: "God is still moving, even if I can’t see it yet."

2. When Faith Looks Like Rest
Luke 23:56 quietly notes that after preparing spices and perfumes for Jesus' burial, the women rested on the Sabbath "in obedience to the commandment."
Did you catch it? It’s a simple line — but a powerful one. In their grief, in their confusion, they chose to obey. In their heartbreak, they honored God’s rhythm of rest.
Sometimes the greatest act of faith is not running or striving, but simply trusting and resting even when you don't understand.

What I'm Thinking Today:
When the women at the tomb honored the Sabbath, they were choosing to believe that obedience mattered even when the outcome didn’t make sense. They didn't rush ahead. They didn’t try to fix things. They trusted God enough to stop and honor Him in the waiting. Sometimes the most powerful thing you can do isn’t to do more — it’s to rest more deeply in the promises of God.
Faith says: Even when I don’t understand, I will trust You enough to be still. Faith doesn’t always look like action. Sometimes it looks like trusting God enough to be still.

3. When Hope Is Hidden
John 19:38–42 tells us about two quiet followers — Joseph of Arimathea and Nicodemus — who came forward to bury Jesus' body with tenderness and honor. It must have looked like defeat. It must have felt like the end. But even in that hidden, broken moment, God was preparing for resurrection. What looked like death was simply the setting for new life.

What I'm Thinking Today:
God often does His deepest work in hidden places — in the tombs, in the waiting, in the silent Saturdays of our lives. Hope doesn’t always announce itself with trumpets or fireworks. Sometimes hope looks like two men quietly wrapping a broken body in cloth and laying it in a borrowed tomb. Sometimes hope is hidden in the acts of obedience, the quiet faithfulness, the unseen moments when it looks like nothing is changing.
But hidden hope is still living hope. Even when we can't trace God’s hand, we can trust His heart. Faith says: "Even in the dark, I will believe that new life is taking root."

BFB, Silent Saturday reminds us that even when heaven seems quiet, God is not absent. Even when we can't feel Him, He is near. Even when it looks like the story is over, resurrection is on the way. If you're waiting today — for healing, for answers, for breakthrough — you're in good company. Your Pastor is right there with you.
We're standing in the same space between death and life where Jesus' followers once stood. And just like them, we will soon see that God has been working all along.

I am closing my thoughts today from Pastor's Pen with this prayer:

Lord, teach us to trust You in the silence.
Strengthen us to rest in Your promises even when we can't see the way ahead.
Help us to believe that You are always working — even when the tomb is sealed and the night is long.
We wait with hope, knowing that resurrection is coming. We give you glory and take no credit. In Jesus's Name: Amen.

In His Service
FLC
ps. I love you and there ain't nothing you can do about it.