Blake Long

Suffering is everywhere. People get cancer. Car wrecks accumulate. Miscarriages occur. Infants are stillborn. The mental health crisis is through the roof. Tragedy continues unabated, thanks to original sin.

If we gaze at our surroundings, it’s easy to despair, to be distraught with the happenings of our world, to wonder if it will ever end.

But as Christians, we know it will. In fact, something good is coming. Something good is coming that will eliminate everything bad in this world. There will be no more tears, no more pain, no more suffering. Something good is coming that will take away all the anguish, all the persecution, all the anxiety, all the horribleness of the world.

That something, of course, is a Someone. Namely, Jesus.

Jesus, the second Person of the Trinity, will return before we know it. He is coming back to reverse everything bad. He is returning to make all things right, to use His enemies as a footstool, to make death, Satan, and those who despise His holy name vanish forever.

So, for right now, we wait. We eagerly await the return of Christ; something good is coming. And as we wait for His coming, we must also endure this treacherous life. We must face the difficult moments, the trying times, the painful circumstances by faith in the Son of God, knowing that one day—one day soon—He will come back. We can face today because something good is coming. And that’s Jesus.

So, Christian, don’t lose heart. This is why Paul, in Colossians 3:2, exhorts us to “Set [our] minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth” (ESV). The more we fix our gaze on the glories of Heaven, the less burdened we will be by the cares and suffering of this world. Jesus’s anticipated return far exceeds the worries of this life. That doesn’t mean suffering still doesn’t hurt; it doesn’t mean pain still isn’t painful. It simply means we can look up; we can get back on our feet knowing that, despite our circumstances, something good is coming to set everything right. And that’s where our hope resides. As children of God, we know the future—eternity—is bright, some we encouraged and know something good is coming.