Everything’s Going to Be Okay
Would you like some encouraging news? Here it is: Everything’s going to be okay.
What am I talking about? Well, everything.
Maybe you’re facing personal concerns or anxieties in your life now—we all do at times. And we wonder: Will I be okay? Will everything be okay? Will I finish my degree? Will I ever pay off my student loans? Will I get a job I’ll like? Will I find my soul mate? Will I ever beat this addiction? Will I fully recover my health? Will I run out of money before I die? Will I accomplish something worthwhile with my life?
If we follow world news, there is much that concerns us there too. What does the Russian invasion of Crimea mean for the future? Should we now fear mass murder–suicide from our airline pilots? When will jihadists succeed in another attack and could I be a victim? Has the Ebola virus arrived in North America? Is our economic situation ever going to improve? What’s going to happen with the health-care mess? Is government intrusion into our lives out of control?
Will humanity even survive? Today many experts aren’t sure!
Lots of scary stuff. So my message to you today is, everything’s going to be okay in the end. How do I know? Because the One who made us and put humanity on the planet says so. That’s why it’s so encouraging and reassuring to read the Bible. More on that in a moment.
But first, I’m not saying that everything in this life will turn out the way we want it to. It won’t. I’m not saying we won’t have painful moments in life. We will. I’m not saying all the world’s problems can be, or are going to be, immediately solved. They won’t in the near term. In fact, the Bible predicts a time of trouble just ahead that will be worse than anything that has ever happened in human history.
In Matthew 24:21 Jesus foretold that future: “Then there will be great tribulation, such as has not been since the beginning of the world until this time, no, nor ever shall be. And unless those days were shortened, no flesh would be saved; but for the elect’s sake those days will be shortened.”
Those days will be shortened; God will intervene; that won’t be the end. Just when the crisis reaches its crescendo, Jesus Christ will return to earth and establish the Kingdom of God. And under that Kingdom every single human being will have the chance to know God, to understand His plan for each of us and to receive the gift of eternal life. When we understand and believe that, then the troubles of this life—however frightening and painful they may be—can be put into context: they’re temporary; they’ll pass; it’s not the end; and a better world is ahead for all of us.
In the book of Revelation 21:3-4 the apostle John was given a vision of our ultimate future: “And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, ‘Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away.”
That’s the future.
This certainly doesn’t mean we shouldn’t worry about God now, or pay attention to His Word. We can save ourselves much suffering in this life, if we follow His instructions. The sooner we come to God, the better off we’ll be. He even promises protection, for those faithful to Him, from the world crises and wars to come—and they are coming.
But what I want to leave with you today is that, in the end, humanity’s story, your story, will have the ultimate happy ending. God is working out His master plan; and it will be accomplished, and everything is under His control.
So when life gets painful and tough and you don’t see any way out, hang in there. Be patient. In the end, everything is going to be okay. We have God’s word on it.
For Life Hope & Truth, I’m Joel Meeker.
