“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” Romans 8:18
How does this verse sit with you? Or maybe a better question would be to ask which one is consuming you? Your future glory or your present sufferings?
For some of you, this pandemic and quarantine have been a good restart or a good change of pace. For others it has been devastating.And as it has dragged on, I’m sure that all have experienced some kind of suffering, if not at least a little inconvenience.
Paul, who wrote this had a pretty good history of suffering to draw from. He was stoned with rocks, beaten, imprisoned, starved, shipwrecked, chained up, and I’m sure that’s just the beginning of it; yet Paul was so consumed with his future glory that he endured all of these things like a champ.
What do you believe about the “glory that will be revealed in us?” Your answer to this question directly affects your ability to endure present sufferings. We have to know and believe that our true home awaits us in heaven and that any good thing we’ve experienced on earth or any redeeming quality will be magnified tenfold in our lives to come–the renewal of all things.
Spend some time with the Lord asking Him to show you where present sufferings have been consuming you. Surrender each one to the Lord. Then ask Him to open your eyes to catch a glimpse of the glory the He will reveal in you.
