“Things Will Get Better”
By Rev. Everett R. Kimble, Sr.
John 4:10-12: Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” 11 “But sir, you don’t have a rope or a bucket,” she said, “and this well is very deep. Where would you get this living water? 12 And besides, do you think you’re greater than our ancestor Jacob, who gave us this well? How can you offer better water than he and his sons and his animals enjoyed?”
As good as it gets. The idea that things could not get any better is the general sentiment of the woman at the well. I’m not good enough, so I will become what people expect me to become. I can’t have my own husband; I will settle for part of someone else’s. This well is the only place I can go to get water, so I will settle for making that long, arduous trip here every day for the rest of my life. I will sink into this humdrum life and wait until it’s over. Little did she know that she was about to come face-to-face with the one person who would change everything and show her that her life was worth so much more and would get better.
Some of us today are just like the woman at the well; we have settled into a life we do not want to be in because we believe this is as good as it gets. You drag into that job you despise because you have been passed up for promotion after promotion and have given up. You’ve stopped praying for a better relationship because you have been in this bad one for so long that it has become your new normal. You have been praying for healing for a loved one or yourself for what seems like an eternity with no result, and the sickness and pain have gotten to the point you want it to be over. Life has knocked you down repeatedly; you are tired and have decided to stay down. My encouragement for you this morning is simple; it does get better.
The job may get worse, and you might have to get fired before finally finding your dream job, but it does get better. You may experience more ups and downs in your relationship; it may turn out completely different than expected, but it does get better. That loved one you have been praying for may transition home, but death for the believer is the beginning of life, not the end, and the pain will get better. Even if the last knockdown knocked you out, wake up, get up, and get back in there because it will get extremely better.
Jeremiah 29:11 (NLT) “For I know the plans I have for you,” says the Lord. “They are plans for good and not for disaster, to give you a future and a hope.”
No matter where or what you are going through, God’s prognosis for you is good. His plan is not to destroy you but to strengthen you. He knows you are lost and hurting, but He has always known where you are. There is a song that says, “What I lack, you are full of; where I’m broken, you are whole. What I doubt you are sure of, so I’ll trust the lover of my soul.” God’s ultimate concern is your soul, and everything that He does or allows is to strengthen your soul.
John 4:10, Jesus replied, “If you only knew the gift God has for you and who you are speaking to, you would ask me, and I would give you living water.” Jesus is all you need; it does get better. Have a blessed and beautiful Friday.
