“The people who walked in darkness have seen a great light;
those who dwelt in a land of deep darkness, on them has light shone.”
(Isaiah 9:2 ESV)
Advent begins with light breaking into darkness. Hundreds of years before Jesus came to this earth, Isaiah announces a hope that does not come from within history but from outside it: God stepping in, God drawing near, God acting decisively to save. That promise was first fulfilled in the first Advent — Jesus’ birth. But not all Old Testament promises related to the coming Messiah were fulfilled in his first coming. There are still a bunch of prophecies yet to be fulfilled.
Years ago as a pastor, I often repeated the mantra, “the best is yet to come.” And in a sense, that’s true. But I used to mean it in a more optimistic, postmillennial way — as if the world were steadily improving and the Church were marching toward a golden age before Jesus returned. It sounded hopeful. It felt uplifting. But was it grounded in reality or just positive thinking?
The answer depends on the timing of that little word “yet.”
The best is indeed yet to come — but not because humanity will eventually fix itself. The best is yet to come because Jesus has a second Advent. His first coming inaugurated the Kingdom. His second coming will consummate it. Only then will everything truly be made right.
This is the hope the writer of Hebrews urges us to cling to:
“…hold fast to the hope set before us. We have this as a sure and steadfast anchor of the soul, a hope that enters into the inner place behind the curtain…”
(Hebrews 6:18-19 ESV)
Our anchor is not the circumstances we experience. It is not progress. Neither is it rooted in cultural optimism. Our anchor is a Person — the One who has already entered behind the veil and who will come again. His return is the one real hope that steadies the soul through every storm.
Jesus himself prepared us for this tension:
“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace.
In the world you will have tribulation.
But take heart; I have overcome the world.”
(John 16:33 ESV)
In this life, there will be tribulation. Yes, God gives blessings, breakthroughs, and seasons of joy — and we rightly give thanks for every one of them. But the Christian hope is not that things will always improve. It is that Christ will return. And when he does, then the best will come in full.
This is why the psalmist can preach to his own soul:
“Why are you cast down, O my soul…?
Hope in God; for I shall again praise him,
my salvation and my God.”
(Psalm 42:11 ESV)
Hope is not denial. It is defiance. Hope looks darkness in the face and says: “Light has come, and light will come again.” Hope remembers that the same Jesus who came in humility will return in glory.
So yes — the best is yet to come. But not because this world will eventually sort itself out. The best is yet to come because the King is coming.
This is the heartbeat of Advent: we live in the tension of the already and the not yet, anchored in the certainty that the One who first came as a child will return as Judge and Restorer, and will make all things new. Until then, we hold fast to the hope set before us. We remain steady. We remain watchful. We remain hope-filled.
The best is yet to come. So let’s long for the day when he returns.
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