The Best is Yet To Come

"Jesus said to her, 'I am the resurrection and the life; he who believes in Me will live even if he dies, and everyone who lives and believes in Me will never die.' " [John 11:25, 26]

There it is... the crux of Christianity. If Jesus is who He said He is, then the one who believes in Him (is changed by Him), will live (spiritually) even if that person dies (physically). And everyone who lives (spiritually) and is changed by the Lord Jesus will never die (experience spiritual separation from God in hell).
In I Thessalonians 4, Paul takes this truth and draws the implication that, because death has been defeated through the Lord Jesus' atoning death and resurrection, we as believers need not grieve as those who have no hope. Sorrow, yes... as without hope? No.
For though the experience of death itself may be grievous, and the emotional loss difficult, we are to be comforted that we will be with Him forever.
Our Lord gave His wonderful promise in John 14:2, 3 -- "In My Father's house are many dwelling places; if it were not so, I would have told you; for I go to prepare a place for you. If I go to prepare a place for you, I will come again and receive you to Myself, that where I am, there you may be also."
I share a story I was sent recently:

A young woman diagnosed with a terminal illness had been given a short time to live. As she was "getting her things in order" she contacted her pastor, and had him come to her house to discuss certain aspects of her final wishes.
She told him which songs she wanted sung at the service, what Scripture she would like read, and what outfit she had picked out to wear.
Everything was in order, and the pastor was preparing to leave, when suddenly the young woman remembered something very important to her!
"There's one more thing," she said excitedly.
"What's that?" the pastor asked.
"This is very important," the young woman continued. "I want to be buried with a fork in my right hand." The pastor stood looking at her, not knowing quite what to say.
"That surprises you, doesn't it?" she asked.
"Well, to be honest, I am puzzled by the request," said the pastor.
The young woman explained. "My grandmother once told me this story, and from that time on I have always tried to pass along its message to those I love, and those who are in need of encouragement. In all my years of attending socials and dinners, I always remember that when the dishes of the main course were being cleared away, someone would inevitably lean over and say, 'Keep your fork.' It was my favorite part because I knew that something better was coming... like velvety chocolate cake or deep-dish apple pie. Something wonderful and with substance!"
So, I just want people to see me there in that casket with a fork in my hand and I want them to wonder 'What's with the fork?' Then I want you to tell them: 'Keep your fork.. the best is yet to come.'
The pastor's eyes welled up with tears of joy as he hugged the young woman good-bye.
At the funeral people were walking by the young woman's casket and they saw the cloak she was wearing and the fork placed in her right hand... over and over the pastor heard the question: 'what's with the fork?' And over and over he smiled.
During his message he told the people of the conversation he had had with the young woman shortly before she died. He also told them about the fork and about what it meant to her. He told them how he could not stop thinking about the fork, and told them that they probably would not be able to stop thinking about it either.
He was right. So the next time you reach down for your fork, let it remind you ever so gently that the best is yet to come.

Isaiah 30:18

"Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him."

Such an amazing truth is this, that the sovereign Creator and LORD of the universe should wait longingly to be gracious to the likes of us! Such astonishing condescension, that He Who spoke everything into existence should set His heart on mortal worms such as us, actually longing to reveal His compassion towards us. And especially astounding, considering our sinful attitudes and actions committed every day we live! How can the LORD of justice look upon us with favor...?

Because His righteous wrath was poured out upon His Son when "He made Him who knew no sin to be sin on our behalf, so that we might become the righteousness of God in Him", (II Cor. 5:21). As we are viewed by the Father as being in the Son, He sees us in the Lord Jesus' perfect righteousness, in His flawless keeping of the perfect Law, in His complete satisfaction of the Law's requirement for acceptance by God into His holy presence: absolute sinlessness. That is the Father's perspective on His children, as viewed through His Son, the Lord Jesus Christ.

The blessing comes for the one who learns to walk in the light of such unconditional acceptance; the longing for God characterizes the life of those who practice their position... who take seriously the fact that they can never earn nor deserve His favor, and rejoice in His grace by (1) deeply longing for His presence, and (2) speaking to others who need the Lord Jesus' salvation.

Psalm 42:11

" 'Why are you in despair, O my soul? And why have you become disturbed within me? Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him, The help of my countenance and my God.' "

Some of the most needed sermons we hear are the ones we preach to ourselves. When thoughts arise that are contrary to the Lord's will and Word, when our flesh rises up in rebellion against the Lord's discipline, or when our emotions flare out of control, then it is time to speak sternly to our spirit, even as the psalmist here exhorts himself to hope in God!

No matter how long we have walked with the Lord, no matter how mature we are in the faith, no one is immune to times of discouragement, doubt, or even despair... no one is exempt. Even one of the caliber of John the Baptist, of whom our Lord said among those born of women none was greater, reached a point where he sent two of his disciples to ask the Lord Jesus if He indeed was the Expected One, or should they look for someone else (Luke 7:19)! There is comfort in the fact that the Lord Jesus did not rebuke John for this lapse of faith. He knew John's situation, and He knew John's heart.
Come to think of it, He knows our situation and heart, as well, doesn't He. In truth, much of His work of sanctification is revealing our heart to us, granting the grace to confess the sin we see there, repent, and move on, becoming more and more conformed to the image of the Lord Jesus.


Father, teach us how to speak to our soul, as did the psalmist. Grant the wisdom from Your Word as well as Your Blessed Holy Spirit to teach Your truth to our heart when needed most. You know how easily our silly heart is deceived and swayed by the enemy and his cohort the world... deepen our determination, strengthen our resolve to declare aloud Your pure Word which never fails in the matter for which You send it! Praise to Your Name! I plea this in the risen Name of Your Sovereign Son, the Lord Jesus, Amen.

Luke 17:32

"Remember Lot's wife."

Possible lessons:

*Our eyes follow our heart.
What our heart desires, our eyes will seek out. Although she was walking away, her heart still longed for Sodom and Gomorrah. Proverbs 4:23 comes to mind: "Watch over your heart with all diligence, For from it flow the springs of life." And how differently the story would have concluded had she obeyed v. 25: "Let your eyes look directly ahead And let your gaze be fixed straight in front of you."

*Her curiosity was, in fact, rooted in distrust and unbelief, leading to disobedience.
With a response similar to Eve's in the garden of Eden, Lot's wife must have felt that God was withholding something from her; that there was no good reason why she shouldn't see the destruction of the cities for herself. Impugning the truthful character of both God and His angelic messenger (Genesis 19:17), she looked back, with the direst of results.
Only in eternity will we know what tragic and terrible spiritual (as well as physical) sequences and consequences resulted from our reluctance and refusal to take God seriously.

*Ignoring God's warnings of discipline results in certain punishment.
Both she and Lot had been shown great grace in multiple warnings: in verse 13, twice they are told by the angel that Sodom is to be destroyed. Again in verse 15 they are warned. In verse 16 their hands are seized, out of the Lord's compassion, and they are led outside the city. Still they do not want to go! God grants Lot's request to settle in Zoar, yet on the way there she felt she could not resist a backward look, despite all the warnings.

NOTE: neither she nor Lot had been told exactly what would happen if she looked back. Perishing as a pillar of salt had not been mentioned.

LESSON: when we sin, we cannot predict the severity of the result, either. Some among the Corinthian fellowship who took the Lord's supper unworthily found this to be so (I Corinthians 11:29, 30). We serve a thrice-holy God, Who does all His good pleasure as He sovereignly chooses.

"Father, as Your children we can easily take Your grace for granted, becoming comfortable with sin as we are lulled into complacency. Forgive such arrogance, Father, and warn us again by bringing Lot's wife to remembrance, to walk in a manner worthy of Your holiness. Cause us to trust You when You say, "No, wait." Cause us to faith You when You say, "I will provide. It will be enough." May we take You seriously in ALL You say.
In the Lord Jesus' Name I ask,
Amen."

A Prayer

Father,
I would intercede for a choice sister in the faith as she ministers to her loved one through dreadful days and difficult nights. The enemy of her soul is no doubt doing all he can to discourage and dismay her heart-- I plea Your blessed Spirit would speak peace and assurance of love to her spirit incessantly, especially in the night hours, when needed most.
Strengthen her resolve in times of tiredness, Father, bolstered by Your Spirit's bringing promises from Your Word to her remembrance.
Be pleased to grant her wisdom & discernment in her use of time, balancing her various family responsibilities so that her heart is free of guilt, one of the enemy's choicest tools.
You've shown Yourself so faithful on her behalf times without number in the past, Father... plainly proving that Your power is perfected in weakness... minister Your grace afresh, I plea, in this time of protracted stress.
Beloved Lord, I would that You move in such a way that others would sense and be aware that it is You who are accomplishing this, and thereby gain the credit and glory! Bear witness to Yourself, through her actions, attitudes, and countenance, that You, and You alone, are the only true and living God!
May Your living reality be manifest through her simplest acts, resonating through her words, resulting in Your perfect will accomplished in her loved one's life.
All to the glory of the Lord Jesus Christ, in whose Name I pray,
Amen.

II Corinthians 4:3, 4; I Cor. 2:14

"And even if our gospel is veiled, it is veiled to those who are perishing, in whose case the god of this world has blinded the minds of the unbelieving so that they might not see the light of the gospel of the glory of Christ, who is the image of God." "But a natural man does not accept the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; and he cannot understand them, because they are spiritually appraised."

Ironic imagery that Paul uses to describe the spiritual condition of the lost, since he himself was struck blind as he approached Damascus. His sightless eyes mirrored the blindness of his soul. He had no idea who it was who had knocked him so forcefully to the dust.

Yet, before that momentous day, had anyone asked, he would have been greatly insulted at the very questioning of his spiritual understanding. Of course he was not spiritually blind! The very idea!! His Judaic credentials were impeccible, his academic accomplishments impressive. So it is with spiritual pride. "Every man's ways seems right in his own eyes."

Thus, the one who says, "I see just fine" has the least awareness that he is spiritually sightless, while the awakened one, the redeemed believer, needs daily ask that the Lord who knows the hearts of all would continually reveal his own heart to him (for indwelling sin blinds each of us to areas which need confession, repentance, and forsaking). Praise to the gracious Father for His blessed Spirit's revealing ministry!

Isaiah 55:10, 11

"For as the rain and the snow come down from heaven, And do not return there without watering the earth And making it bear and sprout, And furnishing seed to the sower and bread to the eater; So shall My word be which goes forth from My mouth; It shall not return to Me empty, Without accomplishing what I desire, And without succeeding in the matter for which I sent it."

However many the times my heart returns to this powerful passage, its confident promise of assurance still sweetens my spirit with the reading. So much in this world starts well but ends badly, shows promise initially yet eventually accomplishes little or nothing, so that this declaration stands in stellar contrast: God's Word never fails. Never.
True, I may not see the results in my lifetime. Or the outcome may not be what I expected or desired. Yet such consequences do not nullify this promise in the slightest: His Word never fails. Never.
How could it be otherwise, really...? The One making the promise is all-knowing, all-powerful, and never changes. As Jeremiah so aptly prayed, "Ah, Lord GOD! Behold, You have made the heavens and the earth by Your great power and Your outstretched arm! Nothing is too difficult for You" (32:17).
"Familiar and needed truths, Father, which I plea You would bring home to my heart afresh. Too often I lazily lapse into assuming truth about Your Word, rather than alertly wielding it in combat with the enemy of my soul. Forgive for ways I impugn Your character by unbelief in the power of Your Word, a reflection on Your power as Sovereign Creator. Call me again to a new awareness and commitment to You and Your unfailing Truth. In Your Son's Name I pray, Amen."