Good Things To Come

Good Things To Come
By: Jacob Sok

Note: This week is General Conference, of The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter Day Saints. During the Broadcasted Proceedings---> found on lds.org, we will hear the Lord's Authorized and Duly Ordained Servants speak, giving us direction, hope, and counsel. I invite all to participate, and as I do not wish to detract from this special event, I only wish to share a humble testimony and prayer of good will to you this week.

There is a Christian saying that goes something to the effect, "God is good...all the time. And, all the time....God is good." To some this may seem a fleeting ideal of antiquated hope, or even a passing quote one may find in a local coffee shop or chocolate wrapper-- but the more breaths permitted me, by my Maker I receive, are slowly become more breaths of praise and gratitude to the God, you and I can call Father.


In the epistle to the Hebrews, found in the New Testament, I was touched this week by the beautiful simplicity of a few verses that attest to the goodness of our Lord Jesus Christ. One of the greatest blessings we can be assured of in this life, and all eternity is the fact that at the heart of our covenants is this truth; where the Lord said, "I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people."(see Hebrews 8:10). The beauty of this simple 'pearl of great price', is that we are promised that God--our loving Father, is whom we can learn of, be blessed by and return too. We are not merely seeking a philosophical idea, or some "unknown God", not an idle, nor mystical force---but a true being of love and power who is the very Father of us all.

He is our God, our strength and our all, and we get to be His people, chosen by Him not by chance! As such He has the joyous privilege to bless, shape, and heal us. Of the blessings most supreme, He gave unto us a Savior and Redeemer, even Jesus Christ. We all struggle, worry, and fear from time to time. How often do we forget the God's plan is one of Happiness. To simply put, as shared in the living scriptures "Christ being come an high priest of good things to come" (see Hebrews 9:11) .  I want you to know that I know, that God knows, we all need a little help, and we hope for the best! But, I also wish to testify of the goodness and reality of a loving God, in these our times. I know from experience that God is good, and we are what matters most to Him.

Sometimes blessings seem far away, or we feel alone and scared. But I would admonish to any of us that feel maybe "poor in spirit" that "[ours] is the kingdom of heaven" (see Matthew 5:3). Elder Jeffery R Holland, shares apostolically  "...Some blessings come soon, some come late, and some don't come until heaven; but for those who embrace the gospel of Jesus Christ, they come. Of that I personally attest. I thank my Father in Heaven for His goodness past, present, and future, and I do so in the name of His Beloved Son and most generous high priest, even the Lord Jesus Christ..."

Whether it is the beautiful generous miracles or the small and simple things, I hope we can all learn to trust and feel again of His love through the bright lens of hope, purchased for us in Christ. I love the lyrics of this sacred primary song that so profoundly say it best----

 Whenever I hear the song of a bird

 Or look at the blue, blue sky,

 Whenever I feel the rain on my face

 Or the wind as it rushes by,

 Whenever I touch a velvet rose

 Or walk by our lilac tree,

 I’m glad that I live in this beautiful world

 Heav’nly Father created for me.

He gave me my eyes that I might see

The color of butterfly wings.

He gave me my ears that I might hear

The magical sound of things.

He gave me my life, my mind, my heart:

I thank him rev’rently

For all his creations, of which I’m a part.

Yes, I know Heav’nly Father loves me.

 I love the Lord, and know that even on cloudy days and weaker moments , that His goodness and love are found in the small and simple wonders of everyday life. I once more echo the words of Elder Holland, when He said; "You keep your chin up...Trust God and believe in good things to come". 

AMEN. 

Sources:

-New Testament, Hebrews 

-A High Priest of Good Things to Come; Elder Holland.

-Google Imaging and LDS Art.