Paul wrote to the believers in Rome:
“But what of that? For I consider that the sufferings of this present time, this present life, are not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!”
These folks were really struggling to live. People – including the government – wanted them tortured and dead. Simple things like going to the market were dangerous, because they could be captured.
Yet Paul said these struggles were, “not worth being compared with the glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us!”
Not only do the sufferings not compare, they’re not WORTH being compared to the glory we’re going to see.
Did that make having some bloodthirsty Roman after you easier? Not in the physical. Yet inside…
Inside where our emotions live, where our motivations spring from, where the Holy Spirit resides… that is at peace. They may have moved from one hiding place to another to survive, but their vision was fully on that glory to come.
Today in most of the western world, we don’t have to hide our faith in order to avoid torture and death. Sometimes the derision of unbelievers is difficult and can seem frightening. That glory that is about to be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us is bigger and better beyond our comprehension.
The diseases ravaging bodies and minds can be horrible and feels like torture of the highest order. Yet the same truth is real: it doesn’t even merit being compared to the glory that is on its way.
I think Paul was trying to help his fellow believers put their focus on God alone. Not to bury their heads in the sand. Not to plug their ears and say ‘na na na’ repeatedly.
Wherever our focus is, our heart resides.
If we allow our focus to be only on the fear and pain and turmoil, we will circle around and around in that and miss seeing the Truth.
People strong in their faith can fall prey to this, too. None of us are immune! This choice to trust Almighty God in the good times AND the bad is one we must make daily – sometimes moment by moment.
Let’s choose Him today. Let’s choose to live as though the glory that will be revealed to us and in us and for us and conferred on us is a done deal.
#ChooseWell #Focus
Coffee, Bible, Journal
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© 2020 Faye Stoeffler Bryant
