Dark Night of the Soul

Following the events of the Crucifixion on Good Friday, the disciples were completely and totally emotionally spent.  All their hope was completely gone, shattered and now all they could do is review the events of the last two days and wonder what went wrong. I don't think we can fully appreciate just how empty allof the disciple's hearts were.  For the first time in their lives they had known what it meant to have someone they could completely believe in.  They had seen Him for more than three years accomplish in that time more than they ever could imagine. Not just the things that are recorded in the Gospels but also the things that occurred in the hearts of these men and women who followed the Master.  These simple people had been transformed by following Jesus into people who others wanted to know, and although there was not one of them that could fully understand all the events of those years, they did know that things had changed for each one of them dramatically.   Now all of them were broken and in disbelief by the events of the past two days.  After the Crucifixion Joseph of Arimethea asks for and received the body of Jesus, this secret believer wanted at least to give His Lord a proper burial. The Romans, the Jews and of course Jesus' followers had not planned for a burial, but now that is all that is left to do.  Scripture does not record any of the moments of that Saturday, in fact all that is mentioned is that it was the Sabbath and in accord to the Sabbath laws they did not go back to the tomb where Jesus lay until early Sunday morning.  But I ponder what went on in the heads and hearts on that Saturday.  Were they wondering out loud, were they pointing fingers at one another, were they praying and asking God why?  You have got to believe that the answer to all of these questions is yes.  They were alone with God, confused but remaining together, no longer hopeful but not knowing what to do.  Ever been there?  Ever been at a place where no one understood, only God?  I have and so have you, we are called by God to trust when we don't understand, to believe when it makes no sense to believe.  To look at what God will do in the midst of our darkest night. Some have called it the Dark night of the Soul, a time when confusion takes over and fear rises, when worry is the language of the emotion of the heart.  That is what it must have been for the followers of Jesus during those two nights of Friday and Saturday.  But Saturday is important in fact vitally important to what takes place on Resurrection Sunday.  The disciples were not looking for Jesus to come back from the dead; they were just trying to get through the day.  All of us have had Saturdays like that one; all of us have wondered how we could make it.  The answer many of us have found, that the trust we have in our Lord when things are going great is the same kind of trust we must have when things are go haywire.  The great news about the dark night of the soul is that God is faithful and He will be faithful to allow Resurrection joy to be seen.  That is a truth you can Count on!