Suffering Is Guaranteed, But So Is Glory.

June 25, 2018

Suffering Is Guaranteed, But So Is Glory.

Romans 8:18

Lauren Frey

Central Truth

God does not waste a second of our pain. Something marvelous that we cannot see right now is behind the curtain. Just because we cannot see it now does not mean it is not coming.

Future Glory

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

Something is terribly wrong. His face is as white as a sheet. When I touch his hands, they feel like ice. My thoughts are racing. What if I lose my only brother?

(Go read the rest of the story in John 11:1-44. Sorry for the extra homework, but I think Paul’s words in Romans need a story to sink in.)

Did you read it?

When I read this story through Mary’s eyes, I cannot help but wonder: what were those four days like after Lazarus died? It says Jesus came four days after her brother died. We do not have to wonder what she was thinking, for she cried out to Jesus through a flood of tears, “Lord, if you had been here, my brother would not have died.” (John 11:32)

Mary then saw two incredible sights: the God of the universe brought to tears by the pain of death (John 11:35) and her dead brother alive again (John 11:44). Mary’s story reveals the truth of Romans 8:18. Suffering is guaranteed (see: every page in the Bible!). But so is glory.

Pain confused me for the longest time, because I thought “good people” should not suffer. But I can tell you today that I know that Jesus loves me BECAUSE of hardships I have walked through. He has met me in the darkest of places, the deepest of losses, and in situations where I still have questions. God has given me some incredible gifts: singleness, financial difficulty, rejection from friends/guys/job opportunities, and the loss of loved ones (who really loved Jesus!). I have prayed with all my heart for God to get me “out” of those heartaches. But if I traded them in, I would miss out on so much of Jesus.

Would you dare to trust this promise? The promise that says that God is not wasting a second of your pain. Something marvelous that you cannot see right now is behind the curtain. Just because you cannot see it now does not mean it is not coming.

This month's memory verse

18 For I know that nothing good dwells in me, that is, in my flesh. For I have the desire to do what is right, but not the ability to carry it out. 19 For I do not do the good I want, but the evil I do not want is what I keep on doing.

– Romans 7:18–19

1. What disappointments or pain have you experienced recently?

2. Hebrews 4:15 and Isaiah 53 promise we have a God who is familiar with the pain we experience in life. So in your disappointment ask Him, "Lord, when did You feel this way?" (For example, "Jesus, when did You feel rejected?" See John 1:11).

3. Where else do you find the words suffering and glory in the New Testament?

4. Are you discouraged? Are you tired? Are you weary of holding on for the "glory that is to be revealed"? Read in Hebrews 11 about the lives of so many who have gone before us who hoped in what they could not see.