From Affliction to Glory |
"For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory." (2 Corinthians 4:17) There is no other time when the life of Christ is more clearly and beautifully revealed in the life of believers than when we are facing adversity. Trials and suffering are indeed used by God as a magnifier that reveals His glory in the lives of His children. When the weight of trials press upon our lives, the sweet savor of God's life is sprinkled upon all those who witness our response to the test of our faith. The darker the night, the brighter the light of faith shines as with the greatness of the trial comes a more powerful witness of God's grace manifested through an endurance and joy that are impossible in human strength. For it is in these mortal bodies that God was pleased to reveal His all-sufficient grace, so that "the excellency of the power may be of God, and not of us" (2 Corinthians 4:7). As we submit to God's will and plan for our lives, He transforms us into the likeness of His Son. The trials and suffering He allows into our lives work for us a weight of glory that will by far surpass the weight of the present hardships. Yes, we go through this valley of the shadow of death, but we can let the springs of joy and hope overflow from our hearts. Not only do we raise above the adverse circumstances of life, but we allow God to change them into unmatched opportunities to grow in faith, in hope and in love as we experience God's presence with us in a more intimate way than ever before. It is thus with faith and hope, with joy and confidence, that we endure, resting assured on the fact that our God is in control, that He cares for us and that He will see us through until the day we shall meet Him in glory. Keeping Him in front of our eyes, let us not grow weary, but rather be encouraged and encourage our brothers and sisters who are going through the same trials, to persevere with unshaken faith, unmoved devotion and undivided heart, running with patience the race that is set before us, for the price of eternal glory that He prepared for all those who overcome. |