"For 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
This is a good reminder that, although we go through really hard things in life, that they will be "swallowed up in the joy of Christ" (Alma 31:38).
I'm not trying to dismiss suffering and tell everyone to just deal... very few things are that easy to dismiss, or to endure. I am reminded of the message God offered to Joseph Smith as he was suffering in jail. "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" (D&C 122:8). A reality check, yes, in part, but the crux of the message was hope. He empathized with Joseph, talking about the horrible things that were going on in his life, letting him know that he had seen it, and that he understood how it felt. Mentioning Christ wasn't simply a guilt-trip move, but a reminder of the atonement--that even these hardest of things, Christ overcame, and through him we will also triumph over *anything* that we suffer in this life. The timing is the Lord's, but it will always happen.
Today, let's have hope and faith in Christ that our sufferings will be nothing compared to the glory that he will reveal in us. Let's be strong in him, walk his path, and follow his instructions, and as we endure our present difficulties, let us remember that soon "God shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
Romans 8:18
This is a good reminder that, although we go through really hard things in life, that they will be "swallowed up in the joy of Christ" (Alma 31:38).
I'm not trying to dismiss suffering and tell everyone to just deal... very few things are that easy to dismiss, or to endure. I am reminded of the message God offered to Joseph Smith as he was suffering in jail. "The Son of Man hath descended below them all. Art thou greater than he?" (D&C 122:8). A reality check, yes, in part, but the crux of the message was hope. He empathized with Joseph, talking about the horrible things that were going on in his life, letting him know that he had seen it, and that he understood how it felt. Mentioning Christ wasn't simply a guilt-trip move, but a reminder of the atonement--that even these hardest of things, Christ overcame, and through him we will also triumph over *anything* that we suffer in this life. The timing is the Lord's, but it will always happen.
Today, let's have hope and faith in Christ that our sufferings will be nothing compared to the glory that he will reveal in us. Let's be strong in him, walk his path, and follow his instructions, and as we endure our present difficulties, let us remember that soon "God shall wipe away all tears from [our] eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away" (Revelation 21:4).
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