“Joseph took the body, wrapped it in a clean linen cloth, and placed it in his own new tomb that he had cut out of the rock. He rolled a big stone in front of the entrance to the tomb and went away” (Matthew 27:59-60).

We focus, and rightly so, on Good Friday and Easter Sunday but there is a lesson in the Saturday of Easter weekend as well. It is the one day in human history when not a single person on planet earth believed Jesus was alive.

The crucifixion had been a traumatic day for Jesus’ followers and Sunday would be a day of ultimate triumph and joy. But Saturday was a different day. I dare say that we have all experienced a Saturday. Bad news has come and we’re still waiting for the good news of deliverance. Saturday is that time when we are waiting in silence for the fulfillment of a promise. Nothing seems to be happening.

Saturday is the period of time when we simply trust God to do what He said He would do. The disciples of the first Resurrection weekend were quietly contemplating their future without the Savior they had trusted so completely. We know the reality of Easter Sunday but they hadn’t experienced it yet.

Because we know what happened that Easter Sunday we can hold onto our faith when Saturday comes. Though nothing seems to be happening on Saturday we know that isn’t true. The Apostles Creed says that Jesus descended into hell. It was there that He snatched the keys of death and hell from our enemy, Satan. It was there that He completed the victory He began in Bethlehem.

Don’t give up when you face a Saturday. God will keep His promises and He is securing an eternal victory for us whether we can see it or not. To paraphrase a popular sermon, “It may be Saturday but Sunday is coming.”