Romans 8:18 - Look Beyond the Gloom to the Glory!!!
Romans 8:18 (NKJV) For I consider that the
sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be
compared with the glory which shall be revealed in
us.
Romans 8:18 (NLT) Yet what we suffer now is
nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us
later.
INTRODUCTION
The entire creation has been affected by
mans sin and is subject to decay. One day, when
our redemption is complete, and our bodies, like
our spirits, have been renewed, creation itself
will be fully redeemed. Till then, mortality
means suffering. For us, and for nature. We know
that our sufferings are insignificant when
compared to the glory that awaits us. But till then,
we can only look ahead, confident and eager,
waiting for Jesus to return. [The 365-Day Devotional
Commentary]
We are not frustrated by the suffering we
experience or see in our world because we have hope.
When Jesus returns, we will enter into glorious
liberty! The Spirit is the beginning of the harvest
and assures us that the best is yet to come.
[Chapter by Chapter Bible Commentary by Warren
Wiersbe]
COMMENTARY PEARL
I went to a bridal shower this past
weekend at a venue right on the ocean. The oceanside
wall of the room was made up entirely of
plate-glass windows. Nothing obstructed our view of the
cobalt-blue sky, puffy white clouds, and dancing waves.
As I raved about the vista to the father of the
soon-to-be bride, he said that when he signed the
contract for the space, he tried to write in,
"Windows must be perfectly clean the day of." The
manager explained he couldn't allow that. They clean
the windows weekly but aren't in control of the
weather. If a storm blows in between cleaning day and
an event, there's always the possibility of
streaks.
Sure enough, when I looked closer, there
were streaks on the windows. I'd overlooked them
in order to see that stunning view beyond.
Newly aware of the smudges, I began to fixate on
them, until I realized doing so was stealing my
joy. So, I made a conscious decision to overlook
them again and focus solely on the beauty
beyond.
So goes my life. Nothing is perfect.
There's no guarantee that Jesus will make my path
clear or wipe away my hardships. But He always
gives me the choice: fixate on what's wrong and
miss the joy in life, or acknowledge and accept
imperfections and consciously choose to look beyond. By
doing that, I can clearly see all the ways He
blesses my life with beauty and good. Clarey
McGarry
Faith Step: When you look out your window
today, work to overlook an imperfections, streaks,
or smudges in order to give thanks for the
beauty beyond. [Mornings With Jesus 2024 Devotional
by Guideposts and Zondervan]
COMMENTARY
Seeing Beyond
There's never been a scientific
instrument quite like the James Webb Space Telescope,
which has been sent millions of miles away from
Earth into orbit around the sun. The telescope's
18 gold-plated mirrors capture infrared light,
allowing astronomers to observe more of the universe
than ever before. Each time a new and more
powerful telescope sends back pictures of the
heavens, we have an opportunity to grow in awe at the
size of God's creation.
When the apostle Paul reflected on his
present sufferings, he knew by faith that there is a
bigger picture beyond what his senses could
register. What he and fellow Christians have endured
in this world are "not worthy to be compared
with the glory which shall be revealed in us." As
he thought about the persecutions he was
experiencing - whippings, beatings, and being jailed for
his faith - his spiritual eyes were lifted ever
higher to the heavens and to a glorious future.
Like peering through a powerful telescope, Paul
knew that his present sufferings were small
compared with the reality of the coming glory.
In truth, the glorious beauties of heaven
are found in Jesus Christ - and the glory that
will "be revealed in us" is the magnificent
character of our Savior. The "sufferings of this
present time" help shape and develop us as children
of God. The most powerful telescope cannot show
us what we will finally look like, for "it has
not yet been revealed what we shall be, but we
know that when He is revealed, we shall be like
Him, for we shall see Him as He is" (1 John
3:2).
Dear Jesus, I know the sufferings I now
experience are temporary, only a small blip in the
light of a glorious eternity with You. [The Most
Amazing Bible Promises by Amazing Facts]
The years of self-denial, of privation,
of trial, affliction, and persecution that Paul
endured, he called a moment. The things of the
present time were not considered worth mentioning
when compared with the eternal weight of glory
that awaited them when the warfare should be
over. These very afflictions were God's workmen,
ordained for the perfection of Christian character.
Whatever may be the circumstances of the Christian,
however dark and mysterious may be the ways of
Providence, however great his deprivation and suffering,
he may look away from them all to the unseen
and the eternal. He has the blessed assurance
that all things are working for his good
He was not able to find words of
sufficient force to express the excellency of that
glory, honor, and immortality which believers would
receive when Christ should come. Compared with the
scene upon which his mind's eye was dwelling, all
temporal afflictions were but momentary, light
afflictions, unworthy of thought. Viewed in the light of
the cross, the things of this life were vanity
and emptiness. The glory that attracted him was
substantial, weighty, durable, beyond the power of
language to describe. 6BC1099-1100
In all ages Satan has persecuted the
people of God. He has tortured them and put them to
death, but in dying they became conquerors. They
bore witness to the power of One mightier than
Satan. Wicked men may torture and kill the body,
but they cannot touch the life that is hid with
Christ in God. They can incarcerate men and women
in prison walls, but they cannot bind the
spirit.
Through trial and persecution the glory -
the character - of God is revealed in His chosen
ones. The believers in Christ, hated and
persecuted by the world, are educated and disciplined
in the school of Christ. On earth they walk in
narrow paths; they are purified in the furnace of
affliction. They follow Christ through sore conflicts;
they endure self- denial and experience bitter
disappointments; but thus they learn the guilt and woe of
sin, and they look upon it with abhorrence. Being
partakers of Christ's sufferings, they can look beyond
the gloom to the glory, saying, "I reckon that
the sufferings of this present time are not
worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be
revealed in us." Romans 8:18. AA576,7
While the Lord has not promised His people
exemption from trials, He has promised that which is
far better. He has said, "As thy days, so shall
thy strength be." "My grace is sufficient for
thee: for My strength is made perfect in
weakness." Deuteronomy 33:25; 2 Corinthians 12:9. If
you are called to go through the fiery furnace
for His sake, Jesus will be by your side even as
He was with the faithful three in Babylon.
Those who love their Redeemer will rejoice at
every opportunity of sharing with Him humiliation
and reproach. The love they bear their Lord
makes suffering for His sake sweet. MB30
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
Romans 8:18 - Look Beyond the Gloom to the
Glory!!!
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2024/20240411-0819.html
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2002/20020725-2011.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
