Life is hard. 

You know this. It can be easy to get caught up in everything going on—to feel like you’re drowning under the weight of grief and hardship. 

But as we look forward to Easter tomorrow, it’s important to remember the hope that Christ offers. 

Easter is such an underrated holiday. For some reason, Christmas gets weeks of break time and even more preparation time. We fill our homes with Christmas trees, lights, gingerbread, presents, and so much more. 

But when Easter rolls around, a lot of us get a long weekend off of school, maybe a week. We might have a nice meal for the occasion or Easter baskets and an egg hunt, depending on your family. Sometimes we might celebrate Lent with a fast of some sort, but for the most part, the celebration of Jesus’ resurrection gets pushed to the back of our minds, cluttered out by everything else. 

And isn’t that something like our faith? 

We often forget about what really matters—praising God and doing His will—in favor of too-long to-do lists, or sickness, or death, or anything else. 

We get stuck on Good Friday and the day after, forgetting about Easter. 

Sometimes, we do turn to God when hardships come, but other times we think we can make it out on our own. 

And still other times we doubt and fear turning to God. 

I’m sure Jesus’ disciples felt pretty hopeless after He died. At that point, they still didn’t understand. But they also didn’t disband. They stayed together, trying to work everything out. 

Because even in the blackest night, we know the dawn is coming if we really believe and think about it. 

But do we think about it? 

When something happens in your life, be it the death of a family member, the loss of health, the unjust treatment of a friend, or anything else, do you remember to look to the future, or do you get caught up in the past and the present?

Our world is far from perfect. Our legal systems are corrupt and broken, our leaders can’t see the way forward, the people get lost in the frenzy of ideas. 

But there is hope. The night will end. Jesus has risen from the dead, and Easter is one of many reminders. 

Spring is a busy season—finals are approaching, school is coming to a close, summer plans are being made. 

But among the business, I hope you find the time to be still for a moment and remember Easter. 

And not just “Jesus died for me, and then he rose again”. 

There’s so much more. So much symbolism and love. 

The garden He was laid in, contrasting the Garden of Gethsemane and the Garden of Eden. 

The horrific pain He endured for hours on the cross, and even before that the anticipation. 

When I’m watching a new show, if it’s something exciting or suspenseful, I’ll often lose my appetite amid my nerves, feeling that I’ll throw up if I eat before it’s over. 

How much worse must it have been for Christ, who knew He was going to die for all of us? 

But He did it anyway. He allowed himself to be nailed to that rough cross, to be hung by his hands and feet.

You might have been held up by your wrists before and felt the pain and the stretching feeling, as if your tendons would snap if you hung for long enough. 

How much worse must it have been for Jesus, hanging from nails in his hands? 

But He did it for you and me. 

He died and rose again so that we might have hope, and life, and joy. 

He gave us everything. So we should give Him everything as well. 

When dark clouds surround us, remember the Light and praise God, because He has made the dawn that is sure to come. He has promised us eternal life in exchange for our love and our loyalty. 

And His promises stand fast, no matter how high the waves or how fierce the storm. 

Paul says in 1 Corinthians 15:14 that without the resurrection, our faith would mean nothing. Without the resurrection, it would all be pointless lies. 

But Christ rose on the third day. He took on all our sins, all our filth, and died to wash us clean. But as God promised as early as Genesis, He crushed the Serpent’s head and killed death. All the powers of darkness, all our sins, could not hold Him.

So, look past the night and await the dawn with thanksgiving, because Jesus didn’t stay in the tomb. He rose from the dead and gave us life.