Headlines in Oklahoma today shared the bad news: Whitney Hand, starting guard for the University of Oklahoma women’s basketball team, had torn her left ACL during the game against North Texas the night before. Whitney had previously worked hard to come back from an ACL tear on her other knee. Now her senior season — and her basketball career at OU — was over.
Whitney is known not only for her prowess on the basketball court, but also as the newlywed spouse of OU quarterback Landry Jones. Both she and her husband have strong Christian testimonies.
Following the North Texas game, Sooner women’s coach Sherri Coale spoke to the press about Hand’s injury. Like many Oklahomans, she was devastated. “It should end better for this kid. It should just end better,” Coale said of Hand. “We don’t know why; it’s not our place to guess or even speculate. In the deepest part of your heart you just want it to end better for her.”
It is understandable that Coach Coale and many fans are grieving for Whitney. No one likes to see good people suffer. But the good news is, we can know that it is indeed going to “end better” for Whitney.

Since Whitney is a Christian, the Bible says that we can be assured of several things about her:
— Because she knows the Lord, her suffering and disappointment is only temporary. Psalm 30:5 says “Weeping may last for the night, but a shout of joy comes in the morning.” A situation that is extremely painful right now is going to end better.
— Because she loves God and is called according to His purpose, Romans 8:28 says that God is causing all things to work together for good for her. Something good is going to come from this, and her story is going to end better!
— And finally, no matter what disappointment she may endure here on earth, Whitney’s eternal home is in heaven. II Corinthians 5:1 says “For we know that if the earthly tent which is our house is torn down, we have a building from God, a house not made with hands, eternal in the heavens.” It is definitely going to end much better for her!

Significantly, what is true for Whitney Hand is true for every Christian who endures hardships. Do you find a Christian in a grievous state? You can be certain of this: it will end better for them. God is sovereign; He has a plan for this world, and He is working His purposes out in the lives of each of His children. Things will always end better for the person who is genuinely a Christian. The patriarch Joseph didn’t deserve to be in prison in Egypt, but it ended better for him. David lost his kingdom for a time, but it ended better for him. Jesus Himself lay in a borrowed tomb for three days — which He of all people did not deserve — but it ended gloriously better for Him! And because Whitney trusts that same Jesus as her Savior, there is one thing we can know for certain: it will end better for her, too.