Everything's Gonna Be Okay
Devotional
Last time I posted I raised the matter of hope with my own definition: "Everything may not be okay, but that's okay, because everything's gonna be okay." Then I considered just the first part, that in these days everything's not okay, that it's not supposed to be this side of glory, and that this reality should make us humble, honest, and compassionate. Remember that hope is not a Christian's head-in-the-sand response to suffering. We know and face the hard facts. Everything's not okay.
Today I want to jump to the third part of my definition: Everything's gonna be okay. What does that mean? First of all, it is not just wishful thinking. These are not just words we say to make ourselves feel better. For some, that may be all they are, but not for us. For the follower of Christ who believes the Bible, these are words that point to promises, realities, truths like these...
Everything's gonna be okay with my soul.
I can't say for certain that everything's gonna be okay with the pandemic, or that everything's gonna be okay with your job, or that everything's gonna be okay with the economy. But for the follower of Christ, I can say with conviction that everything's gonna be okay with your soul, because I know what will happen in your soul, especially in the context of hardships. Paul in Philippians 3:10 calls it the fellowship of his sufferings. David in Psalm 23 says, "Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for you are with me..." In the not-okay times, God shows up. He works in us. He reveals himself to us. He comforts us. He speaks to us through his Word, and we hear his voice. We know him better. We love him more. Our relationship with him is deepened. This is the very reason we exist. And friends, this is a trade-off worth making: "Lord, I am willing to go through not-okay times so that my soul will be okay by knowing your presence." It's very similar to Jesus' experience when he endured the cross and despised the shame for the joy set before him (Hebrews 12:2). But this is not all.
Everything's gonna be okay when Jesus returns.
There is coming a day when no heartaches shall come,
No more clouds in the sky, no more tears to dim the eye.
All is peace forever more on that happy golden shore.
What a day, glorious day that will be!
There'll be no sorrows there, no more burdens to bear,
No more sickness and, no more pain, no more parting over there;
And forever I will be with the one who died for me.
What a day, glorious day that will be!
What a day that will be when my Jesus I shall see,
When I look upon His face, the One who saved me by His grace,
When He takes me by the hand and leads me to the promised land.
What a day, glorious day that will be!
"Everything's gonna be okay" is not just subjective experience in the souls of Christ-followers. It is a future reality. It's a promise from the One who cannot lie and never changes. It's a guarantee from the covenant-making and covenant-keeping God of the Bible. It's way more and way better than "This too shall pass." Our hope is in more than the removal of the negative; it's in the coming and never-leaving of the Superlatively Good, the Savior and Lover of my soul, the One whom I can know in part for the okayness of my soul now, but whom I will know even as I am known forever and ever in the glory of his Kingdom. No more viruses. No more separations. No more material insecurities or lack. No more fear. No more anxiety. No more sin with all of its awful consequences. Just the Lord and his righteousness and all of the accompanying glory. Give me a second. I have to shout or cry or something. Let God speak instead of me...
"Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away, and the sea was no more. And I saw the holy city, New Jerusalem (peace, shalom), coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne saying, 'The dwelling place of God is with man. He will dwell with them, and they will be his people, and God himself will be with them as their God. He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away.'
"Amen. Come Lord Jesus!"
Revelation 21:1-4, 22:20b ESV
Some may be wondering how I know, how anyone can know, that this is true. Maybe to some this does sound like wishful thinking, like a head-in-the-sand response. It's not. I can think about the future this way because of something in the past, something we commemorate this very weekend. "Everything's not okay, but everything's gonna be okay" could easily be restated as "It's Friday, but Sunday's coming!" Friend, if you do not have a stake in Good Friday, when Christ died on a Roman cross in the place of sinners like me and you, then you have no stake in Easter Sunday, when he rose for sinners, as if to say, "Everything's gonna be okay." Please stake your eternity on the work and the promise of the Son of God. Trust in him. Turn from your sins and begin to follow him. If you do, or if you have, the Lord in his glory says, "You who have known the fellowship of my sufferings will also know the power of my resurrection." Jesus pioneers the way for us. Jesus is the trailblazer. It's Friday, but Sunday's coming! Everything's gonna be okay.
Jeff Tague
