Read Zechariah 13:7-9 and reflect on the passage.
Holy Saturday is as dark as it gets. Jesus is dead, in the grave, all hope has evaporated. It does not get darker than Holy Saturday.
But it is “Holy” Saturday because it is not as if darkness, pain, or suffering has no value. As is the case with all kinds of suffering, on the other side of the pain is a holiness that would not be realized otherwise.
I cannot think of anything I have ever done that was worthwhile that did not have some kind of discomfort associated with it. The refining that is spoken of in this passage in Zechariah is no different. Only one third make it through the trial, and for them it is just the beginning. After the trial comes the refining, which although painful, makes things pure—or rather, holy.
On Holy Saturday, the disciples of Jesus probably felt as if all was lost. For them, the trial was over and the refining had just begun. The result: a holiness that could not have been attained apart from the trial and refining process.
Questions
1. What has the trial and refining process looked like in your life?
2. Are you willing to endure refinement to experience holiness on the other side?
Prayer
Father, help me endure trials and refinement so that I can be purified.
—Brodie Taphorn
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