The Dawn of the Darkest Day

Ever try to sing a song that you could barely sing because the message was so powerful?  Recently our church choir has learned a new song written by Keith Getty – The Power of the Cross.  The first verse and chorus are as follows:

I think about a day when I have awakened from sleep and had a dread hovering over me.  Consciousness falls upon me and a reminder of that heavy thing comes to my mind.  It could be an unpleasant appointment ahead, the remembrance of bad news I’ve received the day before, or an unpleasant task awaiting my attention.  But can you imagine waking to the dawn of THE darkest day?  That day was the day Christ died for our sins.  For whom was it a dark day?

• For Christ.  He was headed to Calvary on that day.  He knew what was ahead – “tried, torn, beaten, nailed to a cross of wood,” yet He chose to obey His Father and carry out the plan for my salvation. 
• His disciples.  They didn’t understand what was happening.  They were torn with being faithful to their Savior, yet fearful for their own lives.  The grief must have been heavy as they watched from a distance, Christ suffering for their sin.
• The women who had followed the Lord and loved Him.  It tells us that they stood by the cross of Jesus.  One of those women was Jesus’ mother, Mary.  She was a sinner, Friends.  She conceived Christ by the miracle of the Spirit of God placing that babe in her womb, but she needed the Savior as much as the other women that stood with her.  She knew that this day was coming – she’d been told that He would be the Savior of the world.  This was the darkest day for her.

In reality, anyone who had followed Christ, been touched by Him and knew that He was the Son of God, had to have experienced a dark day on the dawn of this day.  But oh, the wonder of the joy that was just before them!  Did they have an idea of what was to come?  Were they putting the pieces together of what Christ had been trying to tell them?  Because you and I are on this side of the cross, we read the Gospels and want these sad-hearted people to be encouraged because we know that beyond the cross was great joy!

What darkness enveloped you when you woke up this morning?  If you and I could get a glimpse of what is just ahead for the child of God, we would understand the great joy that is just ahead for us, too!  Our sorrow would be turned to laughter, our heaviness would be lifted.  Read the “back of the book” and rejoice today!  Victory, joy and perfect peace is just ahead for all who know Christ as their Savior.  He’s coming very soon and all will be made right! 

I pray you’re ready for His appearing.  I pray you’re looking for Him to come.  It could be today that He will turn the darkness to great joy!

With expectation,