The Best Is Yet To Come

For reference read John 5:1-15

Last Friday, I had the privilege of watching my younger sister graduate from high school

Graduation is a time of hope for the future. New opportunities and challenges arise. In the Christian community, graduates are encouraged to find their purpose and expect great things from God.

I think sometimes many of us lose this hopeful perspective when we’ve put a little distance between us and graduation. Life gets stressful and uncertain. God reveals amazing plans for others and we wonder; Does God really have good plans in store for me? Maybe it’s just me, but I have asked that question more than once in the three years since I walked (wheeled?) across the stage and into my future.

This question isn’t new. There’s a story in John 5 where Jesus encounters a man who has probably asked similar questions many times.

This man was lame for thirty-eight years. Jesus encountered him when he was waiting for that to change. He was sitting beside a healing pool called Bethesda with many other sick people. It was said that an angel periodically stirred the water. The first person to enter the pool when this occurred would be cured of his disease. Jesus encountered this man in his waiting. The dialogue is revealing.

When Jesus saw him lying there, and knew that he already had been in that condition a long time, He said to him, “Do you want to be made well?”

The sick man answered Him, “Sir, I have no man to put me into the pool when the water is stirred up; but while I am coming, another steps down before me.”

Jesus said to him, “Rise, take up your bed and walk.” And immediately the man was made well, took up his bed, and walked.

(John 5:6-9, NKJV)

Jesus asked this man; “Do you want to be made well?” If Jesus ever asks me this question in person, my answer will be an emphatic “Yes!” I have told Him I want to stand and walk several times in the last six years. In contrast, this man responds to Jesus with a list of obstacles to being healed that he had encountered for years. He didn’t see any way his circumstances could change. He failed to notice in that moment that he was face to face with God incarnate. He couldn’t see that Jesus was able and willing t heal him.

That wasn’t a problem for Jesus! With a word, He transcended the obstacles. The man was healed instantly.

Oftentimes when I feel trapped by the obstacles in my life, I can’t see a way out. My eyes are fixed squarely on my circumstances. The success of others increases my pain. This is especially true when I watch someone receive miraculous physical healing. I wonder why Jesus hasn’t given me my promised healing yet. I feel weak and alone. Worse, I feel ashamed that I am bitter towards those who have been healed. I want to rejoice with them, but I lack the strength to genuinely celebrate their victory.

It is in these times that I must choose to fix my eyes on Jesus, my Saviour, my Healer and my Redeemer. He understands my struggles and He will fulfill His promises to me for His glory.

As a graduation present, I gave my sister a journal. In the front I wrote a message and copied her favorite verse. I ended the message with this. “The best is yet to come.”

I believe this is something Jesus wants all His followers to remember, no matter what trials we face. He has good things in store for us, because He is the Good Shepherd. Jesus will never leave His children. On the mountaintop He will celebrate with us. In the valley He will pick us up and give us strength to walk.

The best is yet to come, in this life and in eternity!