Waiting is hard if we don't believe goodness is coming

​In the aftermath of Jesus' crucifixion, his followers went into hiding. Many hid in fear of the rulers who'd just killed Jesus; others hid to be alone with the grief of losing the one they'd come to follow and deeply love.

Even though Jesus told them many times that he was going to rise from the dead, his followers either didn't get what he was saying, or they did and didn't believe it, but none of them were counting the moments until Jesus would reappear.

They were all waiting, they just had no idea what they were waiting for, or maybe they didn't know they were waiting at all.

Can any of us relate to that? Have any of us experienced an upending life event that leaves us feeling suddenly lost? We feel like we're waiting on something, maybe, but we just have no idea what it is.

Well, we Christians, we DO know. We know that God comes through on his promise over and over again to work all things to the good of those he has called, to the good of those who love him.

Sometimes we know exactly what we're waiting on.

Sometimes we've been told of the beauty we can expect, like the disciples, but we don't believe it.

And sometimes we have no idea what we're waiting on other than a general promise for goodness.

Waiting is hard, but maybe it's only hard because we don't trust those truths in the waiting. We don't fully believe what we've been told; good will rise again in our lives.

I don't know about you, but it is indeed the pattern of my life.

Death and resurrection.

Death and resurrection.

It's why the Easter story is so easy for me to believe.

To cling to.

I confess, it's taken me a lot of Easters to get to this point in my faith. It's taken a lot of crucifixions in my life to fully come to trust that the stone will roll away, once again, and that beauty will once again emerge.

How many times is God really willing to keep rolling away stones?

But here I am again, in a Saturday of waiting, but the waiting is no longer hard. It's not, because I know. I know beyond a doubt that beauty will rise again.

It always has. It always does. It always will.

God never tires of rolling away stones.

Life changed for the disciples when they discovered that empty tomb. It changed when Jesus showed up and made goodness out of fear and grief. It changed when the disciples discovered the beauty in the waiting.

It changed how they lived; it changed what they shared with others.

I want to share something with you. If you are in a period of waiting, knowing or unknowing, you can trust that beauty is on the way.

The story of my life assures me of that in a way that I can confidently offer that assurance to you.

The story of Easter assures me of that; Jesus died and rose to assure all of us of that.

We are waiting, but waiting can be a beautiful thing.

If you don't believe me, just wait until tomorrow.

You'll see.

You'll see Easter once again.