It's Friday!

I have always been intrigued by our culture’s preoccupation with Fridays.

The fascination begins in grade school when we finally realize that Friday means no school for two days. Friday is also the day with the best opportunity for a successful bedtime negotiation.

Then, as we progress into adulthood, not much changes. The school portion of the equation becomes work, and instead of negotiating our later bedtime with the parental unit, the little kid in us barters with the responsible adult we have become.

In all technicality, Friday presents to be the same as Monday-Thursday. We still have school and work, and we adhere to our regularly scheduled programming until the end of business – just like every other day of the week.

We see, It’s FriYAY! And the collective, we made its! We greet one another with a cheerful, “Happy Friday!” It’s as if we have a nationally recognized holiday that happens each week.

However, I never hear Saturday receive praise for just existing. And the truth is, Saturday is the real hero! Imagine that stinger every week. You are the actual day that everyone gets to rest on, but the day before gets all the glory. We apologize Saturday.

This cultural obsession with Friday is fun to joke about, but the fascination is rooted much deeper in our human soul than maybe has been considered.

The joy we associate with Friday is really our expectant hope of the future. Our culture loves Fridays so much because of the anticipation of things to come. You see, Friday is no different from the other days of the week, but it represents those early twilight hours before the sun finally breaks forth into a new day.

Monday has become synonymous with the start of a long night, and as we progress through the week, we know we are getting closer and closer to a new day – with Friday representing those final hours of waiting. We get so excited because we recognize that the sun, our reprieve, and joy are coming.

For many of us, life circumstances can make us feel as if we are stuck in a perpetual Thursday. We have made it far enough through the dark night that we are no longer sitting on Monday, but for some reason, Friday just doesn’t seem to come.

Can I encourage you?
Friday will come!

The night may feel long, and you might feel as if things are dragging on, but God won’t leave you sitting on Thursday. He will usher you into the expectant hope of Friday. Even better, He won’t stop there. He will carry you into Saturday, and He will give you rest.

So today, as you enjoy your Friday in the natural, remember that we have an eternal Friday in the person of Jesus. He not only fills us with expectant hope of the things to come, but He always follows through and gifts us with His beautiful Sabbath.