Holy Week: Good Friday
Good Friday.
My friend Pablo has said it well (listen to the song here):
It’s ironic we call this good. Behold the man, The crown, the nails, the hands, The blood-stained wood.
Calling a day like this “good” shouldn’t sit well with us.
Though we know the end of the story is “good” — Jesus rises from the grave victoriously defeating sin, death, and Satan — this part of the story isn’t “good.” On Good Friday, we see the great wickedness of evil and human sin. It’s incredibly hard to look at, sit with, and reflect upon. Our temptation is to skip ahead to the happy ending of the great, true fairy story of Easter. But my encouragement to you, my friends, is to slow down and not rush past Good Friday — especially this year.
This year [originally written in 2020], many are fasting and praying fervently on this day for the eradication of COVID-19 and for God’s mercy to be poured out on humanity. This is fitting for us to do. We see the evil and brokenness of the world more vividly this year. We see and feel the desperate rebellion and prideful sinfulness of our own hearts with greater clarity in our constricted, quarantined lives. This is a great gift from God — if we will receive it. The bad news of our sin and rebellion makes the good news even more precious and sweet.
So this Good Friday…
Keep the fast. Feel the ache. Meditate on Jesus’ engaging with evil and death for you. Meditate on Jesus absorbing God’s wrath for you. Confess your sin and turn in repentance. Hunger for God, His Word, and Christ’s return. Pour out your prayers with cries to the Lord. Acknowledge your fears and your grief before Him. Rage against evil, sin, and death before Him. Pray for our leaders and medical workers. Pray for the sick, poor, and needy. Pray for the eradication of COVID-19. Pray for Jesus to come again soon and make all things new. Submit your plans to Him. Give thanks for His mercy, grace, and love.
If God willingly and lovingly intervened on our behalf when it came to sin, death, and evil, we can be fully assured that He will intervene on our behalf now in this horrific pandemic.
“For He has not despised or abhorred the affliction of the afflicted, and he has not hidden His face from him, but has heard, when he cried to Him.”
Psalm 22:24
Moment-By-Moment 
So good Greg!!!
Thanks for sharing. I remember when I was little being so confused on why it was called “Good Friday” So for a few years I called it Bad Friday, until I understood a little more.
Love the song you added too!!!
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