Hope on This Side of Heaven
Fix our Eyes on the Eternal-
Maddie Joy
Some of my closest friends and I started a weekly scripture memory challenge last week. This is the first verse we memorized together:
Romans 8:18 “For I consider the sufferings of the present time not worth comparing with the glory which will be revealed to us.”
As I have written and repeated these words over and over again, I have been asking God to reveal to me how they apply to my life and what He wants to teach me through this passage. His words are active, applicable, and alive! They are relevant to each and every one of our lives. When we seek Him, we will find Him. When we ask, He answers - not always how we thought or hoped, but in a way that ensures all things are working together for the good of those who love Him. Knowing His word is vital to us as His people. It is not just a suggestion, it is a command to know scripture and to live according to it. He says that His disciples will remain faithful to His teachings and to the truth and that our knowledge of the truth will set us free. It equips us to do what He has called us to do. If you are looking for answers, go to His word. We often wonder why God isn’t speaking, yet we aren’t using the access He has given us to His voice through the Bible. Many of us have heard these truths and these promises countless times, yet we aren’t living like they apply to our circumstances TODAY - right here, right now.
Romans 8:18 has been an encouraging reminder that I have a continual choice. I can fix my eyes on the suffering or fix my eyes on the eternal. I can fix my heart on what is temporarily painful or I can fix my heart on the eternal promise of His glory being revealed. The eternal hope we have in Jesus doesn’t take away or neglect the temporary suffering we will experience on earth, but it does provide us an unwavering hope to anticipate despite anything we face on this side of Heaven.
I am guilty of wallowing in suffering, hurt, questions, doubt, fear, frustration, insecurity… The list goes on and on. My human nature is to allow what I can’t change or control to rob me of my peace. When my heart is fixed on the temporary, I live in turmoil. I live frantically, anxious, and exhausted. I depend on my own strength to carry the weight and feel crushed. I have had moments where I believe the lie of defeat.
When I shift my focus to the eternal, asking God to help me to see things more like He does, everything changes. He turns it all around. When I set my heart on the promise(s) to come, my soul finds rest. There is lift even in the weightiness of life. I live settled, secure, and strengthened. I can look forward in hopeful anticipation rather than remaining stuck in the past or the present with regret, anxiety, or overwhelm. I live in the assurance of victory, not in my own strength, but in His power working through me and sustaining me.
I don’t have to live in turmoil, I can sit beside still waters with the promise-keeper. His promises will prevail, every single one. He is triumphant over every battle you and I encounter, even death itself.
Friends, there will be suffering.
More importantly, His glory will be revealed in a way that cannot be compared to the suffering we experience. Not even our deepest hurt compares to what He has in store.
There is an assurance we have despite the many things we remain unsure of.
There is a peace that passes understanding when we experience the circumstances we can’t even begin to wrap our minds around.
There is hope despite what appears hopeless.
There is abundant life in the brokenness.
There is a promise of eternity when the temporary lives we live on earth are full of suffering, heartache, pain, and questions. We have strength in Him even through what seems unbearable.
He reigns above it all.
So, in the midst of our suffering, we can fix our eyes on the revelation of His glory to come, trusting that every single promise He has spoken will come to pass.
Suffering is a part of a story that ends in victory.
He has the final say and He can be nothing less than good. Our security is in the everlasting.
Whoever is reading, I challenge you to pick a scripture to memorize. Hide it in your heart and ask God to grow and challenge your faith as you do. He will answer. His word is for you. Know it, live according to it, use it as your guide and your weapon. Life is best His way.
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