“I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with
the glory that will be revealed in us.”
Paul had been imprisoned,
beaten, and shipwrecked but that is not what he is talking about. The suffering
he is referencing is the inner turmoil of his own spirit, battling against his
own flesh.
When we talk about suffering today,
too often it involves someone saying something unkind to us, or calling our
faith a fairy tale, or excluding us because of what we believe. These are not sufferings,
they are opportunities.
However, our battle against sin,
the inner struggle of not doing what we want, but doing what we hate can be
devastating, and that is what Paul is referring to in this verse.
This is the suffering that
caused him to cry out “What a wretched man I am! Who will rescue me from this
body that is infected by death?” (Romans 7:24)
Scripture has two pieces of
advice for us when we face this kind of suffering:
1. Know who your liberator is. “Thanks be to God, who delivers me through Jesus Christ our Lord” (Romans 7:25)
2. See the fight in context. It is painful, it is frustrating, but it is over…the battle was won on the cross and these clashes are nothing compared to the glory that awaits us.
So, when you stumble, get up. Confess,
repent, accept the forgiveness Christ gives, and keep going …
Learn from the suffering but
don’t dwell on it… keep your eyes on the finish line and remember that this
present suffering will fade away when compared to the splendor and glory that
God will reveal in us when we finally get home.
"I groan
daily under a body of sin and corruption. Oh, for the time when I shall drop
this flesh, and be free from sin!" - Charles
Spurgeon
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