As I sat in my prayer chair this week, I thought about the moments before and after Easter—the in-between moments. How would it have felt to wake up on the Saturday after Jesus was crucified, pulling yourself out of bed after you’ve watched hope die? The cross was the opposite of what Jesus’ followers had imagined. They thought He would usher in a bright future, but instead, He endured brutal beatings, mocking, and a crown of thorns. They must have felt like the wind had been knocked out of them. Yet, they only needed to hang on for twenty-four hours. Sunday was coming! The first step Jesus took out of the tomb would crush the serpents head. His followers couldn’t see that the future hope was much greater than the one they clung to. In their hour of deepest pain and heartache, God the Father orchestrated His plan of greatest love.
I think about the in-between moments when we are suspended in the waiting space, void of hope. It feels like a gut punch 
when you get that call with a diagnosis, a rejection, a frightening notice. You haven’t yet seen the restoration, provision, or healing miracle. The in-between is after all the plans have failed and the dreams shattered, but before the signs of life and the dawn of a new day. This is when our souls need to be reminded of who Jesus is and what He is doing for us during the in-between moments.The one who conquered sin and the grave is also God with us—Emmanuel.
He is with us in the silence and in the raging storm, in the water and the fire. He is with us when it looks like hope is gone. He is with us in the in-between when we can only see Friday and don’t know that Sunday is coming. It was all set in motion in a stable on a cold winter night, but God completed it on a warm spring morning. When 
Jesus walked out of the tomb, He brought redemption and the promise that one day, every tear would be wiped from every eye. His resurrection proclaimed that no persecution, betrayal, famine, danger, or sword has the power to separate from the love of God. This is the hope that brings light to the darkest places.No matter how long they last, those dark Saturdays are never the end of the story. They are only the in-between. Resurrection is coming, and however long the dark days last, He is forever Emmanuel, God with us.