3-Day Stories

Last Thursday, I sat down with our Director of Counseling here at Gaylord E-Free, Jack Dutton, and we watched a video of one of the sessions of the recent World Conference he attended. The speaker was John Ortberg (one of my favorite authors/speakers) and he talked on the topic of "Saturday." When we think of the death and resurrection of Jesus there were 3-days involved. We know all about Friday when Jesus died on the cross. And we certainly celebrate Sunday when He arose from the dead. But what about Saturday?

I learned something that I did not know. Jack tells me that there are forty-one 3-day stories in the Bible. Along with Jesus dying and rising on the third day, you have 40 other stories like Jonah being in the belly of the fish for 3 days. 41 stories like this! And each of them follow the same pattern:

Day 1 is a day of TROUBLE

Day 2 is a day of SILENCE

Day 3 is a day of DELIVERANCE

On day 1 Jonah gets swallowed by the fish. On day 3 he gets spit out. But day 2 was a day of silence. On day 1 Jesus is crucified. On day 3 He comes out of the grave. But for the disciples, day 2 was a day of silence. So what do you do on the "Saturdays" in your life. What do you do during that time when trouble has reared its ugly head but deliverance has not yet come? Ortberg shared 3 options:

Option #1: You could despair and give up!

Option #2: You could just deny the whole thing!

Option #3: You could wait on the Lord!

It is during the "Saturday" times of our lives that we need to depend on God for all that we do. You can be with God on "Saturday" in a way you can't any other day because you know on "Saturday" that He is your only hope.

This message resonated with me. January through September of 2010 was a "Friday" period in my life when I faced a trouble that caused great hurt. "Sunday" didn't come until March of 2011 when God brought a sense of deliverance and victory. But those 5 months in between were very much a "Saturday" time - a time of silence - a time of waiting. But just like John Ortberg shared, I experienced being with God during those 5 months in a way that was far greater than the time before or even the time after.

So if you have recently faced a "Friday" in your life - a time of trouble and are waiting for God to bring about "Sunday" - a time of deliverance, don't overlook the importance of that "Saturday" - that time period in between the trouble and the deliverance. It is during those times of silence and those times of waiting that you can experience God in an even greater way. And as you do, remember - Sunday is coming because for the Christian, the best is always yet to come!