Love Under Pressure: Waiting in the Dark

What came before it? The waiting, the grief, the presence of Jesus right there in the middle of it all because most of life is spent in those spaces, those spaces in the middle. Sometimes it does feel like we're waiting in the dark, But in those spaces, we're still hoping. We're still trusting. We're still showing up. So here is the good news. In all of that, Jesus is present. Jesus is there with you and with me and with us right in the middle of it all, feeling what we feel, standing with us, staying with us. And even before anything changes, even before we see the outcome, Jesus is already speaking life into us. Jesus is already at work, already holding what we cannot yet see. [01:01:42] (63 seconds)  #InTheMiddleHope

They take the stone away, and this is one of those moments where something shifts again even before anything visibly changes because moving that stone is an act of trust. Trusting god to take that step forward. This is our chance to fully participate in what god is doing. So what happens? Jesus prays. He lifts his eyes. He speaks with a deep sense of connection. He names the presence of God already at work with calm confidence in that moment with his grounded trust, and then he calls out, Lazarus, come out. And Lazarus does. He's alive. [01:00:03] (46 seconds)  #MoveTheStoneTrust

Now when we look at scripture, there seems to come this, like, stark moment where things start to shift a little bit as Jesus asked, well, where have they laid him? Speaking of Lazarus, and the people take him to the tomb, and now we're standing there with her with them and picture the scene. We see it clearly. The stone is fully in place. The tomb is sealed. The air feels still. This is the place where everything has come to rest. And Jesus stands right there with them outside the tomb. This is what it feels like to be waiting in the dark, waiting in the dark. Nothing has shifted yet. Everything still feels the same. Grief is still real. The questions are still there, and then Jesus speaks. Take away the stone. [00:56:19] (52 seconds)  #WaitingInTheDark

He steps forward into the light. He's still wrapped up. He's still needing to be unbound. He's still needing help from others so that he can fully step into freedom. And Jesus says, unbind him. Let him go. All of these details matter because even in the resurrection, there's still a process. There's still movement. There's a community involved in helping someone step fully into new life, and each and every one of us can step into new life. Takes us inviting others. It's a community that helps others embrace this new life Because when we do, what stays with us is not only this new life moment, what stays with us is also everything that came before it. [01:00:50] (53 seconds)  #UnbindToNewLife

But the truth is, we laugh about it, but waiting does something to us even in small, perhaps insignificant ways. We still feel the stress, the hurry up of waiting, and then there are the bigger moments in life. The ones that we are waiting for something that really does matter, and we all know what it feels like to wait for something like that. That kind of waiting that settles in your heart. Waiting for news about a medical test, waiting for a phone call or a message, waiting for a situation to turn around, waiting for peace to come back into a place that feels unsettled, waiting, carrying questions quietly, and sometimes those questions might even sound like this. God, are you here? Are you with us? God, do you see all that is happening right now? God, what are you doing about all of this? [00:50:37] (70 seconds)  #WaitingWithQuestions

Good Friday is perhaps the most solemn service that we have the entire year. Lights are down. It's quiet. We're reflective and axle and, actually, we'll leave the service in silence after we have walked through the stations of the cross as Jesus journeys all the way. And when we leave, we leave him on the cross. And it doesn't feel good. I I'm just telling you. That that service does not necessarily feel good. It feels special. It feels holy. It feels sacred, but I wouldn't say we walk away feeling good because it feels like we just buried our best friend. That's how Good Friday feels to me. And yet that's an important part of our spiritual walk. It's important to have the dinners together, and it's important to go through the worst days together because then we know that Sunday's coming. [00:33:37] (56 seconds)  #GoodFridayGrief

Holy week is not necessarily a week that we're excited for, and yet I would tell you, it can spiritually be the most important week of the entire year. And so, yes, we're excited for that, but not excited like we've been for sports or the Olympics or that sort of thing. It's a different type of excitement. It's about all of us realigning our lives. It's about all of us deciding that we are ready to be resurrected with Jesus on Easter. And through Holy Week, we go step by step through that week. And so this is a time, Palm Sunday, beginning with Palm Sunday all the way through holy week to Easter, this is a time that your friends, your family, and your neighbors are most open to receive an invitation to church. [00:30:49] (53 seconds)  #HolyWeekReset

Moments where life is just so heavy. Moments where we carry something that doesn't have a quick answer. Moments where we show up and, yes, we do what is needed, but we still feel the weight of it all. And in those moments, Jesus meets us right there. Right in the midst of our emotional response, not after it's resolved, right in the middle of it. In the middle. Say that with me. In the middle. In the middle where it's real, where it's raw, where it's authentic. Jesus is right there with us in the middle of it all. [00:55:33] (46 seconds)  #JesusInTheMiddle