Through the Valley of Griefਨਮੂਨਾ

“What is sown is perishable; what is raised is imperishable. It is sown in dishonor; it is raised in glory. It is sown in weakness; it is raised in power. It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body.”

-1 Corinthians 15:42-44

The Kingdom of God is a Kingdom defined by sacrifice—physical and spiritual deaths. We know this and acknowledge it every spring when we celebrate Christ’s ultimate sacrifice on the cross. Yet what we celebrate in the life of Jesus, we fear and avoid at all costs in our own life. We long for our own glories but distrust God when he allows the pain that often comes first. We so easily pray, “Father take this cup from me,” but struggle to say, “not as I will, but as You will” (Luke 22:42).

Hear this loud and clear: God doesn’t like to see you suffer. He is always good and loving and fighting for the flourishing of his kids. I believe he hurts for us when we face the difficulty in our own lives. But even when he allows them, he never wastes them. He can do abundantly more than you can ask or imagine with your suffering (Ephesians 3:20). As you endure faithfully, laying down the person or things you’ve lost, God’s work to raise you back up, refine you, and sow in you spiritual treasures never stops. He is a restorer. “The sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to [you]” (Romans 8:18). He is making you glorious.

Pray: Lord, I hate the pain I’m in right now. Remind me today that the goodness and growth and glory you’re working in me is worth grieving honestly and hopefully with you.