'It's Friday but Sunday is coming.' - These are lyrics from one of my favorite songs right now. And I just keep thinking about how awesome they really are.
I think there are two ways to look at it - both important. The first, and probably most obvious - and most powerful - is through the perspective of Jesus' death and resurrection. For Him, and for those closest to Him, Friday was the worst day imaginable. They were suffering great loss, darkness, confusion, despair, and internal struggle and anguish. Even Jesus reached a point on Friday where He felt forsaken by God and cried out to Him. Friday was the worst of the worst. It was every bad thing we could imagine. It was suffering, death, betrayal, loss, doubt, persecution. Friday was not easy to live through. But it's only Friday...
Sunday comes!! On Sunday God shows Himself to be faithful. Jesus is resurrected. Darkness is defeated. Those who followed and loved Jesus rejoiced in His victory and triumph. Faith was reaffirmed. And the world sees that Jesus is who He said He was. What an awesome day Sunday is for them. Full of everything good - victory, happiness, rejoicing, redemption, faithfulness and truth. What a difference from Friday - such a difference in such a short time.
In my relatively brief time of being serious about my walk with God, He has taught me one thing for sure. When He makes a promise, He keeps it. When He says something, He does not later change His mind. Above all things, I can depend without question on the fact that God's word is true, and He is faithful to His word. And while I have not had any serious trials in this area - I've not suffered great loss, I've not faced persecution, I've not endured suffering - He has quite effectively taught me this lesson through every-day circumstances. Now, when I know that God has promised something, I often write it down so that I can come back to it and lean on His promises in times of fear, doubt, struggle, or waiting. This helps me to live today like I KNOW I already have what He has promised me, even though I can't yet see it. So even if today is Friday, I KNOW that Sunday is coming. How incredible is that! What an awesome way to live life!
So that's the first part of it - the PROMISE of Sunday, even when Friday feels impossible to live through. It's really about having a posture of faith...standing on God's word when there is little else to stand on. It's KNOWING in your spirit that God is faithful.
The second part is a posture of preparation. If my mom calls me on Friday and says she's coming to dinner on Sunday, I live like she is coming to dinner on Sunday. I get groceries for our meal...and maybe even clean the bathrooms for her (LOL). I make plans to be here at the time she expects to arrive. I prepare NOW for something that I know will happen in the FUTURE.
So not only do we stand on God's promises, but we prepare ourselves to receive them. That's part of knowing that Sunday is coming. If I don't get groceries, then I can't prepare a meal for my mom's visit. So even when she does come like she said she would, I am not ready, and the opportunity for a nice dinner and visit passes by........okay, so in reality we would just go eat at Applebee's instead, but you get the point. If God makes a promise that requires some action on our part, we should take the necessary actions to get ourselves in position to receive His promises when they do come.
The Bible says the promises of God are for 'whosoever will' do what He asks of them. That means, everyone can, but not everyone does benefit from the promises of God - only those who act accordingly, who are obedient, and who continually work with the Holy Spirit to prepare their hearts, their circumstances, and their lives, for receiving those promises.
In my mind, the ultimate 'Sunday' is the return of Jesus. He has promised it, so I know it will happen. I also know that I must continually work with the Holy Spirit to keep myself prepared for the moment when that Sunday comes. Of all things, that is worth living for.
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