Incomparable Glory Awaits Us

“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” (Romans 8:18)

Do you ever consider the long list of prayer needs in your church, family or for your friends and suddenly feel helpless? Cancer, Alzheimer’s, broken marriages, troubled teens, suicide, child abuse, unemployment, human trafficking, and a thousand other manifestations of sin in our world can quickly rob us of hope, joy, and peace.

And what if the long list of trials belong to you? If the cancer’s in your body? The rebellious child sleeps under your roof? The crumbling marriage has your I do attached to it?

What do you do when grief nearly capsizes you, but you manage to climb aboard a life raft, only to discover sharks encircling you? How do you cling to hope when danger closes in?

You talk to someone who can offer truly dependable answers.

When our spirits grow weary and we fear we can’t go on, God’s Word provides a staggering list of believers who walked through the fire of life’s trials with their hope intact. The apostle Paul is one of them.

Listen to the Cliff Notes version of his life after coming to Christ. Read slowly and think about each experience. Imagine what even one of Paul’s trials would feel like:

“I have worked much harder, been in prison more frequently, been flogged more severely, and been exposed to death again and again. Five times I received from the Jews the forty lashes minus one. Three times I was beaten with rods, once I was pelted with stones, three times I was shipwrecked, I spent a night and a day in the open sea, I have been constantly on the move. I have been in danger in the country, in danger from Gentiles; in danger in the city, in danger the country, in danger at sea; and in danger from false believers. I have labored and toiled and have often gone without sleep; I have known hunger and thirst and have often gone without food; I have been cold and naked. Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:23-28).

How did Paul press on in hope until he could say with certainty, “I have fought the good fight, I have finished the race, I have kept the faith” (2 Timothy 4:7)?

Paul knew a secret that wasn’t really a secret. He shared it in Romans 8:18: “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.”

The trials? The heartache? The sickness and pain? The struggle to live godly in an ungodly world? The battles with the world, the flesh, and the devil? They’re a speck of dirt in an ant’s eye. A millisecond of eternity. A whisp of dandelion fluff compared to what eternity holds for us.

This truth gave Paul hope. It grants us hope, too.

“For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God” (Romans 8:19-21).

One day we’ll be liberated from sin, sorrow, sickness, and death. From the constant battle between the flesh and the spirit. We’ll be released to live as God intended us to live-able to walk and talk with God in His presence again, free from sin forever. We’ll become everything He created us to be.

This hope of glory seems unimaginable, yet it is as certain as God Himself, because He promised it. Paul saw this future glory with his spiritual eyes. God allows us to glimpse it as well. Tucked into the pages of Scripture are thousands of glimmers of future hope and glory like this sneak peek just waiting for us to discover them.

Read them. Believe them. Take hope in them because incomparable glory awaits us.

Take Heart

The promise of an endless future filled with unimaginable glory provides the hope we need to navigate our darkest days.

From the Heart

Some days, Lord, the only thing that keeps me from giving up is knowing that a better future awaits me. I long for a time when the suffering and heartache of this life end and my forever future begins. Until then, Lord, keep me anchored in the hope I find in the glories You showed Paul. Thank You for allowing me to glimpse these glories through his eyes and through Your Word. In the strong name of Jesus I ask. Amen.

Final Words for This Special Edition of Our “Daily Scripture Series”

How to Have a Relationship with Christ

The Bible Tells Us How:

We must understand that we have sinned, and that our sin grieves and separates us from our loving Father God.

“For all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God” (Romans 3:23).

Because we are sinners, we are separated from God and deserve to die and spend eternity in hell.

“For the wages of sin is death” (Romans 6:23).

We can’t do anything to earn our place in heaven.

“For it is by grace you have been saved, through faith-and this is not from yourselves, it is the gift of God-not by works, so that no one can boast” (Ephesians 2:8-9).

God loved us so much that He sacrificed His totally sinless, perfect Son, Jesus, to pay for our sin.

“For God so loved the world that he gave his one and only Son, that whoever believes in him shall not perish but have eternal life.” ((John 3:16)

“God made him who had no sin to be sin for us, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God” (2 Corinthians 5:21).

We must be willing to repent (turn away from) our sin and accept by faith what Jesus did for us on the cross. When we do this, God promises us a relationship with Him and a forever home in heaven. But the gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord (Romans 6:23)

If you truly want to have a relationship with, then tell Him.

Here’s a Sample Prayer:

“God, I know I’m a sinner who doesn’t deserve a place in your heaven. Oday I repent of my sin. I surrender my life to you. I accept what Jesus did for me when He died on the cross. Come into my heart, God, and make me a new person. Amen.”

If you prayed this prayer, or said the same thing in your own words, and really meant it, God has something to say to you:

“If you declare with your mouth, ‘Jesus is Lord,” and believe in your heart that God raised him from the dead, you will be saved” (Romans 10:9)

If you surrendered your life to Christ, I want to rejoice with you and help you on your way. Please feel free to drop me an email at plovesgod@protonmail.com for more encouragement.

May God bless you.