Looking At Suffering With God's Eyes

 Looking At Suffering With God’s Eyes

Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.  For all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are.

Romans 8:18-19

We all suffer from various things.  Different stages in life have different ailments.  Aches and pains from sporting events become aches and pains from arthritis and muscles that speak after not all that much exertion– or from the many expressions of the disease some friends of mine have coined “TMB” – Too Many Birthdays.

God cares about our suffering and promises to be with us in it and over and over again we’ve experienced His healing help.  However, change and healing don’t often come instantly and so another way God helps us is to invite us to keep in perspective whatever way we are suffering today. 

What we are suffering now is nothing compared to the glory God will reveal to us later. 

Can we trust God with that information and plan? 

Loving God, it’s not news to you that we don’t like suffering.  Give us a pill or some liniment to rub on a sore muscle and we’ll be using that as quickly as we can. 

But not all pains, and certainly the pain in our hearts so many of us carry does not go away in a moment or a day. 

Help us today to bring our suffering to You for strength, healing, and comfort and also to allow You to bring Your perspective to our suffering. 

You certainly showed us the way, Jesus, when You were suffering on the cross for our sin:

Because of the joy awaiting him, he endured the cross, disregarding its shame.

Hebrews 12:2

Give us strength to face and endure in whatever ways that’s being asked of us today.  But also, fill our hearts with the encouragement that comes from knowing that You have amazing things to reveal to us in the future that are so beyond any good we can imagine today. 

And so in faith and trust in You we say:

What we suffering right now is nothing compared to the glory You will reveal to us later.  We, along with all creation will wait eagerly for that future day when You will reveal who we, Your children really are.

Romans 8:18-19

Help us Lord.  Amen

Let’s bring our suffering to God, because He cares, and let’s trust His good care today and in the future as we weather whatever suffering is ours today.