I have just returned from two weeks in Uganda, a two-week trip that was a blessing to me. It was a blessing in two ways: I was able to see our brothers and sisters who have everyday challenges that are much different from ours; and I was able to gain a better appreciation for how the Lord has provided for us. If you are like me, you are prone to be discouraged by all that we see around us – a society that seems ever more and more bent on embracing the sins that the Lord denounces, an American Church that does not worship and follow the Lord as it ought, and even a bleak future for our children. It seems as if the bad news is constant, and that there is no relief in sight. We try and stand for the truth of God’s Word, and are mocked. We try and fight our own sin, only to fall short. It is enough to make one hopeless.

But that is not all. The good news of the gospel is that there is hope for the hopeless. This is a time of great hope as we look to our great God and Savior, who has won the victory over sin, the devil, the flesh, and even death! Can you imagine what it must have been like on that dark Friday night for Peter and John, for James and Nathaniel, for all the disciples and the women who had followed Jesus for so long? Their hopes had been built up, only to be dashed by defeat and death. They had seen Jesus die with their own eyes; they had heard the hatred of the crowd with their own ears; and they had carried his body to the tomb with their own hands. Would hope ever return? Can you picture the travelers on the road to Emmaus as sadness overwhelmed them (Luke 24:17)? And yet the end of Christ’s story had not been written. As hard as Friday is, we must remember that Sunday’s coming! Even as we face difficulties, challenges, and heartache, we must not ever forget that the Lord has not forgotten us. He has won the victory, declared by the resurrection of the Son of God from the dead (Romans 1:4). I encourage you to have the mind of Christ, who knows that the final word is that of the Triune God. There is a wonderful encouraging segment of an old sermon about the contrast between Good Friday and Resurrection Sunday, which you may view here: