"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us." (St. Paul)
We finite creatures tend to get stuck in the moment. We easily forget that our present sufferings serve a larger purpose and will not continue unabated forever. And thusly convinced, we grumble and groan to the same extent that we see our sufferings as random accidents to be stoically endured. And we are discouraged and embittered to the same extent that we lose sight of "the glory that is to be revealed."
We use our puny selves as yardsticks to measure the magnitude of our trials and conclude that they are mountainous. Paul used the glory of Him who fills the universe as the yardstick to determine the size of his sufferings and concluded that they were miniscule.
Present affliction, disease, abandonment, heartache, alienation and/or depression are painful to be sure. And no suffering is easily borne. But if we are to bear the various trials that God has promised to send, and as James commanded, to rejoice in them, then we must learn to view the tests of today in the blazing light of future glory.
As John Trapp once noted, "He that rides to be crowned, will not think much of a rainy day."
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