I woke up this morning thinking about the fact that Good Friday, or at least the events that unfolded so many years ago on the day that we’ve come to call Good Friday, didn’t appear all that good at the time.  As a matter of fact, they were pretty horrific.  The One who was supposed to save the world was crucified.  Dead.  Gone.

Or so it seemed.

But we know the other side of the story.  We know what happened 3 days later.  We know that what appeared so awful, so hopeless, so final was really not that at all.  Things were happening behind the scenes that nobody could have imagined.

And as I processed those thoughts just now with rain pounding against my window (how appropriate for today), I realized something that I just can’t get out of my head.  That day, “Good” Friday, stands as the ultimate example to us of why we can trust God when things happen in our lives that seem awful, hopeless, maybe even final.

Good Friday is good because God was at work in the darkness.  He didn’t stop being God when there was a betrayal, an arrest, a crown of thorns, nails, a cross, a lifeless body, a tomb, a big stone, guards and weeping. Lots of weeping.  He still had a plan.  One that only He knew about, one that only He knew would unfold in His perfect time.

Of course I can’t even begin to compare my “momentary trials” to the cross.  My frustrations and disappointments and unanswered questions are nothing…NOTHING…when seen in light of what Christ suffered that day for us.  But when I look again at the events of those days, I see a God who is always at work.  I see a God who brings light out of darkness, who redeems hopeless days in ways that bring Him glory.

And I am reminded that He wants my trust and my faith when things seem anything but good.  We only know today is Good Friday because we’re on the other side of it and we know the outcome.  A resurrected and living Savior.

God works all things for good.  But sometimes He chooses to work behind the scenes first.

How great is the goodness that You have stored up for those who fear You!  Psalm 31:19

No eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love Him.  1 Corinthians 2:9

And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to His purpose.  Romans 8:28