The Word - March 1, 2012 - REJOICE IN TRIALS ?

For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the trouble we can see now; rather we fix our gaze on what cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but what we cannot see will last forever" (2 Corinthians 4:17-18).

In the light of the above Scripture, are you likely, perhaps, to raise a question here and say, "Well, Paul by the Spirit speaks of our light affliction which is but for a moment, but my trial has been very heavy, and instead of being for a moment, it has lasted for a very long time."

Ah, but wait a moment my dear friend. Granted all that, then it ought to give you a greater conception of what your glory is going to be when you are finally at home with Christ, because there awaits you a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory.

It may well be as though you cannot bear any more, but your Father is taking note of everything and He is going to repay in His own wonderful way when you see His face, by giving you far more in a coming day than could possibly be realized in the here and now.

Whatever you are going through in the way of heartbreak, trouble in your family, disappointment in one who you love; whatever you are called upon to endure, is like the fire that purifies the gold, and when God gets through there will only be pure gold remaining.

Peter, in His epistle, reminds us: "Dear friends, don't be surprised at the fiery trials you are going through, as if something strange were happening to you. Instead, be very glad, for these trials make you a partner with Christ in His sufferings, so that you will have the wonderful joy of seeing His glory when it is finally revealed.

Do you get it? Partakers of Christ's suffering! He suffered down here for us. He has been glorified up yonder, and you and I are going to share His glory! What a prospect we have before us!