Luke 23: 33 & 34 When they came to a place called The Skull, they nailed him to the cross. Jesus said, “Father, forgive them, for they don’t know what they are doing.”

Today we remember the crucifixion of Jesus. His execution on a cross. It’s called Good Friday. But how could this be good? How could the brutal death of Jesus, the perfect son of God who never sinned, how could that be good? Shouldn’t this be Dark Friday, or Sad Friday, or Forsaken Friday? Wouldn’t the title of “Worst Day Ever” be more fitting? But no, it’s Good Friday.

And I want you to remember this forever … what seems bad today may be good for your tomorrow. What was terrible on that day when the skies went dark from noon to 3 pm, what was unthinkable on that day when they nailed our Jesus to a cross, what was horrendous on that day when the whole earth shook as Jesus died, was actually good for all of our tomorrows. The worst day ever changed everything for the good.

Because of the sacrifice of Jesus on that cross, because of his blood that was shed for you and for me, we are now covered. We are forgiven. We are accepted. And we will have an eternal home in Heaven.
But first, the bad stuff. First the suffering. First the death.
Then the resurrection. Then the promise.
And that is why today is Good Friday.

What a glorious day. A day when the enemy surely thought he had won, but everything he did was used by God for good.

And you can be assured God is working the same in your life today. Just as God has plans for you, the enemy has plans for you. Sometimes God allows the enemy’s plans to touch you and quite honestly, I don’t like it. I hate it when harm is allowed in my family. When people get sick, when our future is threatened, when dreams come crashing down, when we make bad decisions, when we are shaken to our core. But then our mighty God comes in and says, “my daughter this may be bad today BUT I’M GOING TO USE IT FOR GOOD. JUST WATCH ME WORK!!!!!”

Genesis 50:20 says “You intended to harm me, but God intended it for good to accomplish what is now being done, the saving of many lives.”

Don’t you see this is exactly what God is doing in your life? He’s taking everything that was ever meant to harm you and he is using it for good today! That is his plan, won’t you let him work?

Most everything good in my life has come as a result of something seemingly bad or hard happening first. Think about it, I bet the same is true for your life.

Being unfairly fired from a job forced me to jump out in faith and follow my passion doing this. Learning how to walk and talk again after a stroke set my feet on a stage to share my story and find my purpose.

How many children have been saved and adopted because first a family suffered from infertility. First it was bad, then God used it for good. How many financial disasters have been used as turning points. How many rock bottoms have been solid foundations to begin building again?

Will you trust that although the enemy meant it for harm, God is indeed at work in your life right now, using it for good? He always has and he always will.

Today we remember our Jesus willingly dying on that cross for us. For me and for you, individually. He didn’t have to. He could have saved himself. He could have called down a thousand angels from Heaven. But he didn’t. He was thinking of you and he shed his blood for you. Individually, personally for you. And it was good.

That’s why today is Good Friday. Because we have a good, good father and a loving Jesus who couldn’t bare to leave you alone. And so he died just to know you.

There’s an inner circle of BIG Life consisting of 320 women I get to mentor, called BIG Life Mentoring. Within this inner circle, this week we’ve been sharing our life stories as an offering to help one another. What I’ve found is we often think we’re alone, we’re the only one who has gone through this, or felt that way. The enemy’s plan is to isolate us and he does this by silencing us in our guilt and shame. This week, these women have broken that silence and we’ve shared. We’ve shared the worst of ourselves. Our worst decisions, our biggest regrets, our greatest pains, our deepest wounds. This has been NO PITY PARTY. It’s not a competition of scars. It’s been an offering. An offering of “God has restored and redeemed me, and he can do it for you too.” An offering of “yes, this happened to me, but it does not define me.”

And understand, THAT is what Jesus did for us on that cross. He personally took on everything you would ever face, everything that would ever hurt you, everything you would ever mess up in your entire life, all the times you would get it wrong, every failure and mistake, and he bore the shame and punishment himself. He paid the price for you. In exchange for your belief in him, you get his reward.

The reward is a life with the identity of who you were created to be, not what you have done or what has happened to you. You get to live your days in this one life free from any shame or guilt, that was taken care of on the cross for you. You can leave it there now. Take that to the cross, you were never meant to carry it with you. This is his reward here today, take it. And the reward will follow you to eternity where you get to spend forever in paradise with him. Forever.

And the price has already been paid for you. The ticket has been bought. It was bought there on the hill called The Skull where they nailed him to the cross. There where Jesus bled and died with you on his mind. An offering of a life free from what you may have deserved. A life full of grace and mercy that always draws you back in to your truth … the truth that you are loved wildly, fiercely, recklessly without limits or restrictions.

And today, we remember the best thing that ever happened to us and for us. And offering of a perfect life in exchange for your saved life. An offering of his blood to cover your transgressions. An offering of complete forgiveness. An offering that changes everything. EVERYTHING. It happened on that cross. It’s Good Friday.