Do you ever wonder if your pain has a purpose?
“Was it not necessary that the Christ should suffer these things and enter in to His glory?” -Luke 24:26
We all know that, in the words of R.E.M., “everybody hurts.” Yet, though it is often so hard to find hope in the hurting, Jesus shows us both the necessity and the redemption of suffering.
Necessity, because what victory can be had without struggle, what triumph without trial? Redemption, because be an overcomer requires an obstacle to overcome, and the greater the obstacle the greater the glory on the other side.
It is that glory that serves as the shining beacon of hope in hardship, that glory that Christ received and now offers to us. As we persevere through suffering as He did, we are made ready to receive His glory so that we may reflect it to the world and return it to Him in praise.
