There had to be a grave

If there had never been a grave,

there would be no rolled-away stone,

no breathless wonder at an empty tomb.

No dawn soaked in glory,

no triumphant light breaking through

the long night of sorrow.

Without the grave,

there would be no victory to shout,

no scars turned into songs,

no weeping turned into worship.

The silence of death

was the stage for resurrection’s roar—

for hope to rise, radiant and unshaken.

It was in the dark stillness of the grave

that heaven began to tremble,

that redemption took its deepest breath

and stood up in power.

So take heart—

even the tomb was part of the story.

Even the waiting, the ache, the loss

were not the end.

Because from that cold place

came life everlasting,

and from what looked like defeat

came glory that will never fade.

There had to be a grave,

so that Love could show

that nothing—not even death—

can hold Him down.🤍