Every Day is Saturday.

Written by Allison Johns, Charis Recovery Coach

Usually, I love Saturdays, but this one is different from any other Saturday of the year. It’s the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter. Honestly, I don’t like it. I’d rather it just be tomorrow already. Tomorrow, we’ll sing about life and victory and bask in the glory of the day and what it means. But today is different.

Today feels profound. It feels heavy and unsettled. Scripture is fairly quiet regarding the events of the day. We know they guarded the tomb. But we aren’t given a window into the hearts and minds of the ones who were waiting. We don’t know how they felt or what they thought. Surely this day felt heavy and unsettled for them, too. Surely their hearts longed to rest in the hope of the promise, but after the darkness of Friday, I can imagine that hope was hard to grasp.

And maybe you’re thinking, Wait! We know what happens! We know how Sunday turned out! Yes, we do. Oh, praise God, we do! But there are lessons to be learned on Saturday.

This is where we live. We’ve encountered Jesus the Christ. We’ve believed and received life eternal. Our sins have been forgiven, and the righteousness of Christ has been applied. But we find ourselves in the in-between. We find ourselves living in what feels like a perpetual Holy Saturday. It’s appropriately been called the tension of the “already and not yet.” Because he lives, we also will live. It’s the promise straight from the mouth of Jesus in John 14:19. The former has been fulfilled, because he does indeed live! But it’s our Saturday, and we’re waiting for the also.

Waiting isn’t fun. Waiting can be exhausting. Waiting brings all the emotions.

For someone in recovery from an eating disorder, this waiting can feel unbearable. Maybe you’ve stepped out of the darkest place of your struggle, but full freedom still feels out of reach. Recovery can feel like an endless Saturday, a place where you long for freedom but still battle shame, fear, and control.

Jesus warned that we’d have trouble in this life. He told us to expect it. It’s why relationships are hard. It’s why conflict tears apart the church. It’s why, despite our diligent parenting, children choose paths that lead to sorrow. It’s why recovery often feels like two steps forward and one step back.

We’re so tempted to skip over Saturday. We’re so tempted to put on our Sunday clothes and Sunday smile, pretending that everything is okay. We hide our pain and struggles. We say that things are fine when they’re not. We see difficulty in life as a reflection of our inability to keep it all together, rather than seeing it as the universal state of creation groaning and yearning for the promise. But Jesus doesn’t ask us to pretend. He invites us to bring our lament, to sit in the reality of Saturday, and to lift our weary hearts to Him. Read through the Psalms and listen to the language there. The Psalmist knew the pain of Saturday, and he poured out his questions, fears, requests, and petitions to the one who was his help in times of trouble. In fact, someone much greater than the Psalmist did this as well, and we can do the same.

When Jesus was in the Garden praying, He poured out his soul to the Father. He was in agony, asking for a very bitter cup to be removed. The Father didn’t remove the cup, but instead sent an angel to strengthen him. But here’s the thing - even after the angel strengthened him, his agony remained. The cup was just as bitter, but he was strengthened to drink it in obedience.

We’ve been given help as well, but it’s greater than an angel. It’s the Spirit of God Himself. He’s our deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. And while the Spirit doesn’t take away the difficulty of Saturday, he strengthens us for it. He teaches us and reminds us of all that Jesus said (John 14:26). He guides us to understand truth as we read the Bible (John 16:13). He powerfully transforms us into the image of Jesus (2 Corinthians 3:18). He intercedes for us as we pray (Romans 8:26). He comforts us in our trials (2 Corinthians 1:3-4). He gives us victory over sin (Romans 8:2). He produces good fruit in our lives (Galatians 5:22-23). He equips us to serve the Church (1 Corinthians 12:4). He never leaves us (2 Corinthians 1:22).

The same power that raised Jesus from the dead on Sunday is the power you have on Saturday (Romans 8:11). Healing may feel slow. It may feel like freedom is taking too long. But the Spirit strengthens you to walk in obedience and surrender, despite the ongoing struggle. 

There are common graces all around. The truth is, Saturdays can often be filled with many earthly joys and comforts. But every time we’re reminded of the brokenness of this world, and every time this brokenness invades our lives uninvited, our hearts long for heaven a little more. Every time human relationships disappoint, we’re reminded that Jesus never will. Every time we’re met with the frailty of life, we can choose to loosen our grasp on what we can’t keep to hold tightly to what can never be taken away.

For those in recovery, you already know that hope is not found in achieving a certain weight or controlling food, but it’s also not found in finally “getting it right” or being free from struggle altogether. Hope is found in Christ alone. And the waiting is not wasted. Every moment of struggle is an opportunity to turn to the Helper, to learn dependence on God, and to trust that Sunday is coming.

Don’t fail to acknowledge how hard it is and how much you need a Helper. And may it force our gaze to a Sunday that’s coming, all because of the Sunday that already came.