Jesus Christ Is the Best Yet to Come
The joy Jesus Christ offers is always available to you.
Think about a time when you thought the world was going to end. No, seriously! Have you gone through something so difficult that you thought you wouldn’t make it through?
OK, maybe you didn’t think the world was ending. But did it feel like your world was? This could have been anything from failing an important test, to your best friend moving, or a loved one passing away unexpectedly.
No matter how you dealt with those past struggles, look at yourself now: you survived! Even better, prophets and apostles remind us that we can do more than merely survive current and future struggles. We can find joy in the middle of them.
“The Best Is Yet to Come”
The Savior suffered more than we can imagine in Gethsemane and on the cross. Bearing the pains, sicknesses, and sins of the entire world (see Alma 7:11–13) would be difficult, to say the least! But He overcame it all.
Elder Patrick Kearon of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles taught, “Yes, we ponder the sufferings and injustices inflicted upon our Redeemer for our sin, and that does cause sober reflection. But we sometimes get stuck there—in the garden, at the cross, inside the tomb. We fail to move upward to the joy of the tomb bursting open, the defeat of death, and Christ’s victory!”
Because of Jesus Christ, we do not have to stay stuck in our own suffering. We can move forward and even look forward to the future with joy and faith.
So, while life can seem more difficult than we think we can handle, remember what President Russell M. Nelson recently taught: “The best is yet to come!” What a beautiful, reassuring promise! President Nelson knows a lot about the pain and heartache that the world sees every day. But he can still say that “the best is yet to come!”
How would your perspective change if you really knew the best was yet to come? How would it change the way you confront life’s challenges?
Keeping Christ in the Picture
One future event President Nelson has invited us to joyfully look forward to is the Second Coming of Jesus Christ.
Before you point out that “men’s hearts failing them” (Luke 21:26) and destruction raining down on the wicked doesn’t really sound like “the best is yet to come,” let’s clarify something: it’s the Second Coming of Jesus Christ. We’re missing the point if we take Him out of the picture. He is “the best” that is yet to come—He is the reason for our joy! As President Nelson said, “The best is yet to come … because the Savior is coming again!”
Look at the Nephites, for example. Even though they were on an entirely different continent, when the Savior died, they endured some Second Coming-type catastrophes: death, destruction, natural disasters. Entire cities fell into the sea (see 3 Nephi 8).
But after all that commotion, those who believed in the Savior knew that the calamities were a sign of the Savior’s death. In the very moment they were talking about Jesus Christ and the signs they had seen, the Savior appeared to them (see 3 Nephi 11:1–11).
Imagine how much joy the Nephites felt! After such devastating destruction, the Savior ministered to them and healed them. After all the fear and panic, the Nephites rejoiced and praised God that they got to meet their Savior (see 3 Nephi 11:14–17).
The Savior might not physically visit you in this life as He did the Nephites. But you can come to know Him through reading the scriptures, partaking of the sacrament, keeping covenants, and more. He can help you feel joy now and in the future, no matter your circumstances.
While We’re Waiting …
The Savior’s Second Coming might happen in your lifetime, or it might not. Either way, there is joy in Jesus Christ right now.
President Nelson taught the following inspiring truth that helps as we await the Savior’s return: “My dear brothers and sisters, so many wonderful things are ahead. In coming days, we will see the greatest manifestations of the Savior’s power that the world has ever seen. Between now and the time He returns ‘with power and great glory,’ He will bestow countless privileges, blessings, and miracles upon the faithful.”
In other words, we can find peace and joy in Christ right now, until His return, and forever. Jesus Christ is the light at the end of every tunnel. He is the joy in personal hardship. He is the relief from fear. He is your Savior. As you focus on Him, peace and joy are available to you here, now, and always.