The Waiting Silence—Held In The In-Between

“The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.” - Luke 23:55-56

Between the devastation of Friday and the hope of Sunday, there is Saturday—a forgotten day, wrapped in silence and uncertainty. The world holds its breath. The women who loved Jesus lay down their preparations and sit with grief, not knowing resurrection is just a sunrise away.

This is the space many of us know: the in-between, the waiting after loss, or confusion, or heartbreak. It’s the day of questions and unfinished prayers, when it feels like God is silent and nothing is moving. How do we live here, held in the Saturday of our lives?

Luke’s gentle detail carries weight: “they rested… in obedience.” Faithfulness in the waiting is perhaps the most difficult kind. The cross is behind, the resurrection out of sight, and all that remains is to rest, wait, and trust in darkness.

The women do not ignore the sorrow or rush past pain. They prepare what they can, but ultimately surrender the outcome to God. The silence is not absence—it’s anticipation, the hushed space before a miracle breaks open. In your waiting, God is not inert. He is tending seeds buried below the surface, working in ways you cannot yet see. This is the faith that believes not just in what God has done, but in what He is still working out.

There was a season I prayed for a breakthrough—a prodigal sibling, years lost to addiction, a family divided. Good Friday brought tears and aching prayers. Saturday brought only silence. Days turned into months, then years. I doubted, sighed, sometimes gave up. But every time I ached, God met me quietly. My faith deepened in the waiting—not because the answer came, but because I learned to rest in God’s presence without needing instant resolution. Resurrection finally did come, but it was the “Saturday” that taught me trust.

As you move through your own waiting season today, start by simply identifying an area where you feel stuck—an unanswered prayer, a dream deferred, or a healing you long for. Let this reality guide you into an intentional Sabbath trust: choose to rest in a tangible way by setting aside one worry or to-do list, and instead spend time simply “being” with God—whether that means taking a quiet walk, sitting in gentle reflection, or journaling your honest feelings. As you rest, whisper this truth aloud: “God is at work, even if I cannot see it. Sunday is coming.” Allow these words to settle into your spirit, gently ushering hope into your waiting moments.

Father, I confess that waiting is hard. In the silence, my anxieties crowd close. Remind me in the hush of Saturday that Your love holds me when answers don’t come. Teach me to rest before You, to trust that buried seeds grow in hidden places, and that silence is not abandonment. When I cannot trace Your hand, anchor me in Your heart. Give me strength to obey even when I don’t understand, and hope to believe that resurrection waits just around the bend. Meet me in the waiting—transform the unanswered longing into deeper trust. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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