A Day Called "Good"

“On the first day of the week, very early in the morning, the women took the spices they had prepared and went to the tomb. They found the stone rolled away from the tomb, but when they entered, they did not find the body of the Lord Jesus.”
Luke 24:1-3, NIV

Have you ever wondered why we call the darkest day in history "Good" Friday?

In Luke 24, Jesus’ disciples prepare spices to care for His dead body. As they go to the tomb, they mourn not just the death of Jesus, but also the death of their dreams. The death of hope. The death of a vision. Everything they had believed in seemed to dissolve in the anguish of a crucifixion.

And calling that experience “good” didn’t make any sense. 

How might you relate to that moment? You may be living in your own Friday right now. A diagnosis that took your breath away. A relationship that fractured even when you tried your best. A financial setback that shattered your sense of security. A grief that feels impossible to carry.

The weight of Good Friday reminds you that your God doesn't bypass suffering—He enters it completely. When Jesus died on the cross, God Himself experienced the sting of death, the agony of loss, and the pain of giving up what was most precious to Him.

Then the Scripture gives you a word that changes everything: "But."

"But on the first day of the week..." Luke tells you. (Luke 24:1, NIV) That single word signals a reversal. The cross was not the end of the story. God always has the last word.

This is why you can call a day marked by suffering "Good." Not because the suffering itself was good, but because God can work through even the worst circumstances to bring about redemption.

What does this mean for how you enter Good Friday today?

It means you can bring your dead things—disappointments, griefs, failures, and your pain—to the God who knows what it's like to lose. To the only God who understands. And God doesn't ask you to call painful things good. He asks you to trust that He is good even when circumstances are not.

It means you don't have to rush past your grief or pretend everything is fine. Good Friday acknowledges your pain while promising it's not the end of the story.

Today, don't rush past the grief of Good Friday. Let it remind you that when you suffer, you never suffer alone. Your pain is held in the scarred hands of a Savior who died before He rose.

This Good Friday, remember that your darkest day—whatever it may be—is just part of the story. For the God of resurrection is at work.

Prayer: Lord Jesus, Thank You for enduring the cross for me. Thank You for not staying distant from my pain but entering into it completely. Help me to trust Your goodness even in my darkest moments, believing that the God who turned death into life can redeem even this. In Jesus’ Name, Amen.