expect great things

You know the old song by Frank Sinatra, The Best Is Yet To Come? Well, it’s true… for the Christian.

I spent the afternoon with some of the older ladies from my church. They may be old, but I tell ya, they have more life about them than most teenagers I know. Young people could do with a good dose of Christian old people, if ya ask me. These women, in particular, sure knew how to have a good laugh. And they sure knew how to cook. My time with them passed by quickly, as I listened to them recount memory after memory. I learned about their late husbands, their children, and their careers. Their eyes sparkled as they reminisced about the good times. And their lips curled into a certain smile, as they remembered the bad times... with an appreciation, wrought by firsthand experience that “God does work all things together for the good of those who love Him.” One lady told me twice in the course of one conversation, “There is a reason for everything.” I listened and listened, collecting golden nuggets of wisdom.

Anyways, my dad and mum were both there as well, just as busy collecting their own nuggets, I’m sure. When it was nearly time to go, my dad shared a short devotion to encourage these dear women. Although, I’m secretly convinced God had custom-tailored this devotion for me. My dad quoted Psalm 27:13, I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! and Psalm 23:6, Surely goodness and love will follow me all the days of my life. Notice the expectancy in these verses. David is absolutely certain that God’s goodness is paving the path for his future steps. He goes to bed at night, expecting God’s mercies to meet him in the morning. He expects God to be tomorrow, what He has been yesterday and today.

My dad reminded us all today to remember that the best is always ahead for the child of God. That does not mean that everything will be just peachy. Of course not. But our good God will remain His same-good-self.

Let’s not forget 1 Peter 1:3, Praise be to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ! In His great mercy, He has given us new birth into a living hope through the resurrection of Jesus Christ from the dead. It’s time we wake up again to the joy and peace of this living hope. Let’s face it -just because you’re breathing doesn’t mean you’re living.

To really be alive, you must know Jesus. And when you know Jesus, you’ve got a lot to look forward to! As an old man in Northern Ireland used to pray, Lord, keep me alive until I'm dead.

Hopefully some day, if God lets me live so long, I will be just like these sweet and seasoned women of the Lord. It starts now, though. It means trusting God, while I'm just twenty-one-years-old. It means expecting God to be faithful every.single.tomorrow, from here-on-out. It means living with hope.