For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
(Romans 8:18 ESV)
The Sufferings of This Present Time
No one would argue with the fact that this world is full of pain. And my guess is that you would not deny that your life is hard. Broken relationships. Harmful addictions. Lost jobs. Painful injuries. Debilitating illnesses. Troubled minds. Life is hard.
We often call the “hard” parts of life “suffering.” Romans 8:18 would label these things—these painful, life-altering, sorrow-inducing things—as “the sufferings of this present time” (ESV).
What suffering are you experiencing right now, at this present time? What is your “hard circumstance?”
The Glory that Awaits Us
Before we talk about this incredible word of hope, we must remember that this word of hope in Romans 8:18 not for everyone.
The “us” in this passage, refers to those who “are in Christ Jesus” (Romans 8:1 ESV). This means all those who have put their faith in Jesus as the only Savior and the only way to be reconciled to God, thus belonging to Jesus. Is this you?
If so, then Romans 8 continues with a word of encouragement for you. If not, today, you can be delivered from your sins and the eternal punishment awaiting you by putting your trust in Jesus. The promise of Romans 8:18 can become yours today.
Romans 8:18 provides us with a 30,000-foot view of the sufferings of this present time. It says that they “are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us” (ESV).
In other words, if each of us weighed what we are suffering now with the glory that is to come, the discrepancy would be so big, we might as well not put them on a scale!
This verse does not demean the pain any of us is experiencing. Instead, it reveals just how majestic the glory to come will be. Your pain that runs so deep, that at times is all-consuming—if it cannot be compared to this glory to come, well how great, then, must that glory be?
You may be thinking, But what is “glory”? That feels so nebulous and challenging to put any image to! Later in Romans 8, we learn that God will glorify us (Romans 8:30), meaning we will come to look like Jesus, free of our sin. Not only will our suffering end, but it will act as a beautifying agent in our lives until Jesus fully glorifies us.
The glory awaiting us is an eternity in the presence of Jesus, in whose presence is fullness of joy (Psalm 16:11; Psalm 21:5-6). To live with Jesus in eternity, free of all pain, and to look like Jesus inwardly, free of all sin, will be so incredibly glorious, that all we suffered will feel incomparable to it. The things that make us cry now are not worthy of being compared to the blessed hope we are promised that will move us to sing later.
Revelation 21:4 paints yet another vision of the glory to come: “He will wipe every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away” (ESV). The glory to come will engulf and eradicate the suffering you now experience.
A Promise to Cling to in Your Suffering
Friend, we know that the pain of this life can feel crushing and overwhelming. We know that many who read these words today may be in the thick of “sufferings of this present time” (Romans 8:18 ESV). And we know that the pain in those seasons often feels so intense that it swallows any vision of hope for tomorrow.
But permit us this opportunity to shift your gaze heavenward. Though you may not see how any good can come from your current pain, you can hold to the promise that God has made in Romans 8:18.
Anyone who crowns Jesus as their Lord and receives his salvation by faith will not only be delivered from the punishment for their sin but also, in eternity, will be set free from the pain that sin ushered into the world.
If you have put your faith in Jesus, your pain has an expiration date—what’s coming to you in eternity will absolutely swallow up in victory the pain you are enduring now. Glory awaits you.
When we lose hope, we still have a promise to cling to. May the Holy Spirit help you cling to this hopeful promise by faith—that your present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to you. It may help in your suffering to think about the glory to come. Ask yourself, “What awaits me in glory?”