When Good Seems Bad

"Good Friday is a day of hope disguised as sorrow."

~unknown

Good Friday always seemed like an erroneous word to me when I first became a Christian. It seemed like a day filled with whippings, wrongful accusations, hatred, torture, abuse, and crucifixion for our sinless Savior should never be labeled as good. But then, as Peter was scolded in Matt 16:23, I see that I was not setting my mind on things of God, but rather looking at things the way Satan would have them.

Christ Carrying the Cross, Luis de Morales 1565, Getty Museum

In order for you and I today (as well as countless others in the past, here now, and in the future) to be able to be reconciled to God, Jesus had to fulfill these prophecies and die. He had to sacrifice His sinless Self for our sin, deny His own comfort and power to overcome their evil, so we could be reconciled back with God and spend eternity in heaven.

"So we live in the face of death, but this has resulted in eternal life for you." 2 Cor 4:12

As humans, we only see the here and now; we feel the pain or emotion of the present, and it's hard to see the future byproducts of our circumstances.

The Crucifixion by Fra Angelico, The Met

So we look to the source of wisdom, hope and joy - God's Word-that we can trust as truth for our good. We let a familiar verse resonate in our souls and ask God to help our unbelief-

"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good,

for those who are called according to His purpose." Rom 8:28

And we saturate our minds around the belief that no matter what, whether the turbulence in our lives be intentional or not, we serve a powerful God who sees all, knows all and controls all.

"As for me, you meant evil against me, but God meant it for good" Gen 50:20

Bodminchurch.com image

On this day over 2000 years ago, He sent His one and only Son to this broken earth so we can one day go to His perfect heaven and be with Him. What seemed like the darkest day the earth has ever known ended up being the most powerfully loving gift we could receive. Our God can use everything in our life for our good and His glory.

It was indeed a Good Friday.

✙ Dear Heavenly Father, this day is a somber day of remembrance that ends in joy - You suffered on my behalf so I could be reunited with You. What a sacrifice You made for me! Saying thank You isn't even enough. Help my living be in gratitude. Amen.

Comments

Scattered or Scatter?

"A puppy is the ultimate distraction" ~ Philip Rosenthal, TV writer Ever sit down to check your grocery list on your phone, then start downloading digital coupons, then go to Pinterest to check the recipe and start pinning for a half hour, but start looking up whether an ingredient is high in sugar or carbs, remember to log everything you've eaten for the day in your app and get depressed because you're already at your limit and it's only 10a.m., so think that maybe you'll go exercise to burn some cals and carbs so you can eat the rest of the day, realize you don't have any workout clothes clean so start a load of laundry, notice how dusty the wood floors are on the way to the laundry room so give that a quick dry mop, then figure why stop there so dust the furniture as well, catch a glance at the clock and realize you have 15 minutes before you have to leave, so frantically fix your hair and makeup, rushing out the door wondering what happened to the mo...

How to Fight Back the Darkness

Crosswalk image Nothing makes Satan weak in the knees more than when we are on our knees." ~ Skip Heitzig, Pastor Death. Killing. Violence. What do we do with such heavy hearts in such a dark time? With the knot in our throats and the pit in our stomachs that are weighing on our souls? When we look around us, nothing on this broken earth can fill our void of sadness and despair. So we look up to the One who created all things and who alone has the power to bring light and help: "I lift up my eyes to the hills. From where does my help come? My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. What does help look like? When does it come? How much will we get? Anger, confusion, bitterness, hostility, helplessness and fear overcome us in different ways and at different times. We want reasons- we ask, "Why, Lord, why?" We instinctively want a reckoning- someone to pay for the injustice that has happened....

Christmas in July

Google image "I will honor Christmas in my heart and try to keep it all year." ~ Scrooge, A Christmas Carol 🌞Alright, alright - I hear you. Please don't talk about Christmas while you are enjoying summer. (But someone needs to hear this - there are only 157 days left.) And you know what comes out first- the school supplies, then one day later the autumn decor. Then three days after that is Christmas everything. And my happy meter spikes:) I can already smell the pumpkin spice latte.☕ Now some may think I'm trying to throw shade on the whole summer experience. 😎 And you would be right. I only endure summer because fall is just around the corner, and I am finally able to celebrate this time of year appropriately, without a start to school. I will admit I love the poppies that are growing in my yard. And of course the baby deer. And the garden tomatoes and peaches. OK, summer does have some redeemi...

Scatter the flowers

Search This Blog