Redemptive Ramblings

Twenty-six years ago, I had a very bad Good Friday. I was 16 weeks pregnant and so excited to be a mom. On that Friday morning in 2000, I woke up and realized I had started bleeding. After a call to the doctor, I headed out for the Emergency Room. On the drive there, I couldn’t do anything but pray.

But when I got there, they confirmed my worst fear. There was no heartbeat, and my hormone levels were dropping, confirming that my body was, in fact, miscarrying my baby. To say we were devastated would be an understatement. 

On the way home from the hospital, I only remember saying one thing: “Jesus had a really bad Good Friday once, too.” And while the sorrow and pain I felt over the loss of my child can’t really be compared to the pain and grief of Christ on the cross, it was such an encouragement to me to remember that Jesus was “a man of sorrows, acquainted with grief.” (Isaiah 53:3) 

Every year on Good Friday, as I reflect on Christ on the cross, I am amazed. Hebrews 12:2 says this, “looking to Jesus, the founder and perfecter of our faith, who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is seated at the right hand of the throne of God.” (ESV) He looked past the immediate suffering, shame, and grief of the cross. And on the other side, He saw joy.

What joy did He see? He saw us! He saw each of us, adopted into His family through His own sacrifice. (Romans 8:15) Jesus didn’t just see the immediate suffering of the cross; He saw into the future, where each of us can accept His sacrifice and become part of His family. 

I couldn’t see into the future that day, twenty-six years ago. I couldn’t see the children I would go on to adopt or the joy they would bring to my heart and life. But if I had been able to see the joy ahead of me, I wouldn’t have learned to trust God more fully, as I certainly did during that season.

You may be facing horrible circumstances this Easter season. You may be having a very bad Good Friday today. If so, I challenge you to look to Jesus, our example of endurance. And be encouraged–as Jesus knew, and as I have learned, there is still joy ahead!

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