The Hope-filled Promise Of Eternal Glory

After experiencing major challenges in my life like sickness, disease, a huge financial hardship, job concerns and so forth I cannot tell you how many times I have inquired of The Lord - What do I learn from all this? Teach me Holy Spirit.

Change has to occur for development to proceed. God initiates His formula of pressure over time for believers to be refined. If He supplied us with the answers to problems on the onset of every issue, there would be no progress in our development. God allows change through all kinds of friction so that in our relationship with Him we move from glory to glory. Paul in 2 Corinthians 3:18 says it like this -

"And we all, who with unveiled faces contemplate the Lord’s glory, are being transformed into his image with ever-increasing glory, which comes from the Lord, who is the Spirit."

Notice the transformation, the challenge or molding that God has to perform on the believer's character  between the glories. Surrender and trust in God's work in the Christian's life are the instruments to use in order to travel from glory to glory.

This is a great beginning to every problem - inviting God into the situation. I don't have an issue with trusting God with my dilemmas, my difficulty is gaining understanding from Him before, during or after the ordeal about why.

Perhaps believers can lean on Scripture like 2 Corinthians 4:7-9 which states -

"But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

Paraphrased, this sentence says, Yes, we are vessels made of clay, but we have a treasure within that displays to others that our usefulness is dependent upon God's all-surpassing power that can work through us. How is "God's all surpassing power" displayed? By being "hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed."

Alone, our minds, bodies and soul are weak and would be destroyed. However, the Christian has Jesus and His Holy Spirit to prove His grace, His favor is enough. Paul would state later - 

"But he said to me, 'My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness.' Therefore I will boast all the more gladly about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may rest on me." (2 Cor. 12:9)

Therefore, when life is trying to convince you that you are defeated, to just give into the pressures, perplexities, persecutions and abandonment - just remember He is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within the believer. (Ephesians 3:20) That is why Paul called it that "all-surpassing power".

Sometimes our weaknesses travail to the point of death and we wonder - where was your all-sufficient grace and your perfect power then God? Even to this point Christians must trust. Paul said it best to the believers in Rome when he said, 

"If we live, we live for the Lord; and if we die, we die for the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord." (Romans 14:8)

But even more than belonging to the Lord, the idea is the Sovereignty of God.

Allow me to provide you a second consideration for the why during the hard times of life.

2 Corinthians 4:16-18 states -  

"Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal."

Paul encourages the believer (Therefore we do not lose heart.), recognizes the problem (Though outwardly we are wasting away,), supplies hope (yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.), then gives a practical step to achieving our break-through during challenging times (So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.). 

Paul has given us the answer, to focus on the unseen, the eternal. And Jesus is the believer's ultimate unseen, eternal focus this side of Heaven, but Paul also mentions to look for eternal glories that our hardships achieved for the Christian - "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all." 

What a hope-filled promise! Fellow believer in Christ, the next time you are experiencing a light, hard, long or momentary trouble, keep your eyes fixed on Christ Jesus, trust in His Sovereignty and remember The Hope-filled Promise Of Eternal Glory.