Things Will Be Better
There is a malaise over the town after our doubleheader hurricane. Many are still digging out after record floods. Others are ‘back to normal’ on the outside but shouting on the inside. How much worse can it get? What’s next? These are natural questions after disaster.
Brethren, to me, though I am the very least of all the saints, this grace was given, to preach to the Gentiles the unsearchable riches of Christ, and to make all men see what is the plan of the mystery hidden for ages in God who created all things; that through the church the manifold wisdom of God might now be made known to the principalities and powers in the heavenly places. This was according to the eternal purpose which he has realized in Christ Jesus our Lord, in whom we have boldness and confidence of access through our faith in him. So l ask you not to lose heart over what I am suffering for you, which is your glory. For this reason I bow my knees before the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, from whom every family in heaven and on earth is named, that according to the riches of his glory he may grant you to be strengthened with might through his Spirit in the inner man, and that Christ may dwell in your hearts through faith, that you, being rooted and grounded in love, may have power to comprehend with all the saints what is the breadth and length and height and depth, and to know the love of Christ which surpasses knowledge, that you may be filled with the fulness of God. Now to him who by the power at work within us is able to do far more abundantly than all that we ask or think, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus to all generations, for ever and ever. Amen.
Ephesians 3:8-21
In every struggle, large or small, it is natural to wonder if things can be any worse. In these times I like to remind people of all the pain and struggle they have already experienced. Is it worse than today? You made it through then and you can make it through today.
That is called strength and growth. At every ‘low point’ in life we wonder if we will ever climb back out. The key is to focus on the strength we gained during the last struggle. This is why Saint Paul tells us not to lose heart. God has a mystery plan for us to be saved.
Everything we endure, He endures with us. Everything we endure with His glory He honors with strength and blessings. Everything we face is for us to learn “the principalities and powers in the heavenly places.” If this world was kind to us, we may want to remain in the world.
Imagine if life never ‘went south’ and we always succeeded. There would be no hope for something better. We would expect life always to work out in our favor. That is not what God promised. This is what Saint Paul wants us to see. Suffering is for glory. It can be no other way.
Christ suffered and it ended up being to His glory. Saint Paul suffered and it was to his glory. We suffer. We only need to learn how to see the glory of God in our suffering, like Saint Paul. It is in our suffering that we learn “the breadth and length and height and depth” of God’s love.
If nothing else, we can learn to hope for something better in Christ. Maybe our suffering is meant to help us leave the worldly things behind. It is the worldly things that make us suffer. In a disaster it is seeing our wealth destroyed. The less we care about our wealth, the less we suffer.
Don’t misunderstand me. It isn’t about money. Wealth is just an example of the world’s gravitational pull on our hearts. Power, prestige, influence…these are also examples of the world’s pull on our hearts. The glory of God comes when we leave the world’s pull behind.
Things will be better. It won’t be here on earth, but they will be better because they will be with God’s glory and not the world’s glory. God’s glory never causes suffering. If you think God is making you suffer, you have fallen trap to the devil’s most famous lie.
Don’t believe the devil. Believe God and the Saints.
