Tell us what to do and we will do it. We have no problem offering our blood, sweat, and tears for a worthy cause. And we’re not confused about the life we want and how it can be a blessing to many others as well. Our struggle is knowing what to do with the space between death and resurrection when we’re still inside the tomb.
We’re not afraid of hardship. We can decide to quit a job or move our family to a new city, discipline ourselves to overcome bad habits, or speak hard truths into our relationships. Give us a clear mission and we’re willing to do whatever it takes to accomplish. We see the good life possible and this keeps us motivated to fight the good fight.
But Christ was not immediately resurrected after he died. He was buried. And that Saturday was spent inside the tomb.
This is a time of silence and unknowing. We don’t have clarity and we don’t know what will happen next. In the tomb we’re tempted to go back to what’s familiar, or perhaps to rush ahead and attempt to secure the life we desire on our own terms. Or we might be so quick to find meaning in it that we don’t actually sit with the loss we’ve experienced.
Time in the tomb is not wasted. It’s part of the pattern Christ himself followed. We’re being prepared in ways we might not see or fully understand, but we must learn to trust and accept this time of being undone in the grave.
The strength being formed in us here is not through our action, but in our ability to remain and not force things to move on our timeline. This is not passivity. It’s surrendering our attempts to control and trusting God will call us out of the tomb at just the right time.
The early disciples were not anticipating the resurrection when Jesus lay dead in the tomb. And while we can now trust the pattern and the coming resurrection, we still don’t know what this will look like or when it will take place in our story.
It’s okay when today you are simply inside the tomb.
