S T A T I O N 9
THE TOMB
Read
LUKE 23:48-56
48 When all the people who had gathered to witness this sight saw what took place, they beat their breasts and went away. 49 But all those who knew him, including the women who had followed him from Galilee, stood at a distance, watching these things. 50 Now there was a man named Joseph, a member of the Council, a good and upright man, 51 who had not consented to their decision and action. He came from the Judean town of Arimathea, and he himself was waiting for the kingdom of God. 52 Going to Pilate, he asked for Jesus’ body. 53 Then he took it down, wrapped it in linen cloth and placed it in a tomb cut in the rock, one in which no one had yet been laid. 54 It was Preparation Day, and the Sabbath was about to begin.
55 The women who had come with Jesus from Galilee followed Joseph and saw the tomb and how his body was laid in it. 56 Then they went home and prepared spices and perfumes. But they rested on the Sabbath in obedience to the commandment.
Reflect
What do you do when your whole world falls apart?
Confused, heartbroken, and mournful, Jesus’ followers’ hope was gone. Death had robbed them of their dream. They had given their lives to follow Jesus, and it was all over.
The quiet act of Jesus’ burial was the necessary prelude to the beauty that awaited them, but they didn’t know it yet. Yet even in their darkest moment, when all seemed lost, God was still moving. And in our darkness, we can trust he still is, too.
Respond
Where right now do you carry the weight of hopelessness or despair? Maybe you feel like your current challenge – be it a fractured relationship, the lingering pain of past trauma, or the grip of addiction – looms too large for even God to handle. Or perhaps you feel like he’s been absent from your pain. Take a moment to identify that place. Write it down in the bowl of sand.
Now, in that very real space of darkness, ask God for the strength to trust Him anew, remembering that even now, unseen, He is working on your behalf. And he knows his way through the dark. When you’re ready, smooth the sand as an act of trusting God to see you through this.