#DailyDevotion Our Suffering Now Can’t Compare To The Glory To Be Revealed To Us
Rom. 8:18-2318I think what we suffer now isn’t important when I compare it with the glory to be revealed to us. 19For the created world is waiting on tiptoe to see the unveiling of God’s sons. 20For this created world must waste away, not because it wants to but because its Master would have it so, but it does so with the hope 21that this created world also will be freed from the slavery of decay in order to share the freedom of glory with the children of God. 22We know that all creation has been groaning with the pains of childbirth until now. 23 And what is more, also we, who have the Spirit as our first taste of heaven, groan inwardly as we look forward to being adopted as His children; then our body will be set free.
What is now is not what is yet to come. I mean the sufferings we endure now do not last in the world to come. They are no more. I know that many of the suffering we endure now seem like it is the most important thing in our lives. It may seem unbearable and we may even wish the LORD would take us now. But St. Paul tells us by the Holy Spirit, these sufferings are not important when compared with the glory to be revealed to us. Certainly, we now glory in our sufferings because suffering produces patience, endurance, character and hope. We would be well to remember that. Our suffering is not in vain. It is not for nothing with God our Father. Paul tells us in 2 Cor. 4, “17The light trouble of this moment is preparing for us an everlasting weight of glory, greater than anything we can imagine.” Therefore, we should in our suffering know it is only a slight moment of time compared to the glory which we will be clothed with Christ is revealed.
Even this created world we live in is wasting away. It too is undergoing suffering until Christ Jesus is revealed and we are revealed as God’s sons. It has been under the curse since Adam rebelled against God his Father. But it knows there is coming a redemption for it as well. We see the birth-pains of creation in all the “natural” disasters that occur on this earth. We can even look heavenward and see how entropy has not only affected our home but the cosmos as well. It looks forward to the day when it is freed from decay and shares with us the freedom of glory with us.
We also groan inwardly with the Spirit given to us. We have tasted the LORD is good. We have known the freedom from sin and the forgiveness of our sins. We feel the guilt of our sins removed from us. Even though yet we struggle with our flesh which is corrupted by sin (Rom. 7) we know we are more than conquerors through Jesus Christ our LORD. We look forward to seeing the adoption we have been promised in baptism fulfilled. At the time our old flesh is shed and we get a new immortal, imperishable, glorious body like Jesus’ risen body. The glory of the LORD will cover us and we won’t even remember the sufferings we endured because of the greatness of the joy that we will have.
Heavenly Father, help us to look at our sufferings as your preparation for us to see and receive your glory and behold our adoption as your son. In Jesus’ name we pray. Amen.