Romans 8:18-30
Present Suffering and Future Glory
18 I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. 19 For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed. 20 For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope 21 that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God.
22 We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time. 23 Not only so, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for our adoption to sonship, the redemption of our bodies. 24 For in this hope we were saved. But hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what they already have? 25 But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.
26 In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. 27 And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God.
28 And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose. 29 For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and sisters. 30 And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also justified; those he justified, he also glorified.
I often complain of any current or present suffering that I have...I do not think about the future glory that will be revealed in us, when I am doing this complaining...Death, somehow will bring glory in us, and those thoughts remain less talked about...For the creation waits in eager expectation for the children of God to be revealed...For the creation was subjected to frustration, not by its own choice, but by the will of the one who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be liberated from its bondage to decay and brought into the freedom and glory of the children of God...We know that the whole creation has been groaning as in the pains of childbirth right up to the present time...We have been given the firstfruits of the Spirit by Jesus' death on the cross...For in this hope we are saved...But hope that is seen is no hope at all...Who hopes for what they already have and own and can hold?...But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently...Let us hope patiently for the LORD, and our Savior...
Many of us, including me, would like to see the world free from all pain and suffering and evil...We, as mankind, would like these things to be alleviated...God could eliminate these things...Maybe it is said, that by giving us free will and free choice, these problems of evil and suffering must be included in the world...We cannot have free choice without allowing the problem of pain...But it seems that the One who is Perfectly Good in His ways and in His Great Wisdom has decided to allow evil, pain, and suffering to be in this world...God seems to approach evil, pain, and suffering from another way, and a very different perspective...But regardless of us not understanding why God allows the problem of pain, we are told He is working towards goodness in all things...
And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love Him, who have been called according to His purpose...God works to drive out evil...God is always working...Dr. Martin Luther King said that, "Darkness cannot drive out darkness; only Light can do that...Hate cannot drive out hate; only love can do that."...So it takes Light to drive out darkness...It takes love to drive out hate...It takes goodness to drive out and overcome evil...So, when you believe these things, there is faith and hope in the future...These things that happen to us in the present will soon fade...Evil, in time, will turn into good...And only God can drive out evil and turn it into goodness...