Romans 8:18 “ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” This episode is about sometimes really great things come out of pain and sometimes pain is necessary to get to where you want to go. Music:"Adding the Sun" Kevin MacLeod (incompetech.com) Licensed under Creative Commons: By Attribution 4.0 License http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/
Sometimes The Pain Is Necessary
Romans 8:18 “ For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.”
This may be hard for some of us to hear as the sufferings of this present time are immense for some people. This has been a really hard 18 months. So many people have died. So many people have lost someone that was close to them. At the beginning of all of this there were so many people that had to die alone with no family around them because the risk of spreading Covid was so great. That meant that a lot of people had to miss out on being there when their loved one passed away. There are also all of the people that did not pass away but did suffer a lot with all the symptoms of Covid. This verse is not saying that the we are not suffering. It is not minimizing the suffering of the present time, it is trying to let us know how amazing the glory that is to be revealed to us will be.
It is trying to say that as bad as this is, it can’t even compare to how great the glory will be. For instance if we needed to rate the suffering we are in right now, some may say it is a 10 out of 10. If this is the case then the Glory that is to be revealed to us will be a 20 out of 10. The two can’t even compare. Sometimes you need to go through some pain in order to have something even better. A great example of this is child birth. You can’t have a child without someone giving birth to that child. Child birth is painful. I have not met one person who said they made it through the whole pregnancy and the birth without any pain. I also have never met a woman who said she would trade her baby for the pain. In other words, going through all that pain was worth it in the end because if it weren’t for the pain, they wouldn’t have their baby. Some of you may have adopted your child and if so, I am sure you experienced some emotion pain before doing so. All of the waiting, all of the unknowns, and all of the not this time was painful, and yet I bet you would do it all over again to get to have your child in your life.
Another example of this is the pain of losing someone. When you lose a loved one it’s painful. However, the only reason it’s painful is because you will miss what you had with that person. It is painful because you will miss doing things together. It is painful because they won’t be there to celebrate with or to talk to anymore. You miss them because you got to spend time with them and you got to make memories with them. Would you trade those years of memories and fun for the pain that you feel at their passing?
Some people have had a hard life. They have had a lot of loss and they have hardened their hearts and they don’t let people get close to them. I don’t know if they even meant to do this. I think it just happens over time. If you have been in a lot of relationships and you have gotten your heart broken a lot, then you may start to be more cautious in who you open up to. If you have been told by society that you are not ok just how you are, then you may start to become someone else. If you have lost a lot of people close to you then you may start to feel like people always leave, so why get close to anyone. These may be things you consciously decide to do, but they may also be subconscious decisions that your brain makes.
You have a part of your brain that is only concerned with your survival. We all do, it is the part of the brain that controls your fight or flight. Fight or Flight used to be super important when we were hunter and gathers primarily. We needed our brain to tell us to run when we saw a lion. In today’s society we don’t need it quite as much. However, its job is still to keep us safe. If our brain sees that we are constantly being hurt by something it will instinctively try to avoid it. If our brain sees that when we love someone they end up leaving, it will put up walls so that we don’t let ourselves love anyone. That way we won’t be hurt. Have you ever found yourself self-sabotaging and you don’t know why? Have you gotten into a relationship with someone and you can’t seem to let them in. You feel like you love them, you want to let them in, but then you always do something to end the relationship, or chase them away. This could be your mind trying to protect you.
Another way this could be affecting you is if you are finding yourself constantly trying to be someone that you’re not. Have you ever felt like you don’t feel comfortable in your own skin? Have you ever felt like you go through your day and then at the end of the day you feel like an imposture, or like you don’t know who you are? This could be your brain trying to protect you. If you were given a message as you were growing up that you are not accepted just as you are, or if society has told you that you are not enough as is, then maybe you are trying to be someone else so that you will fit in and be accepted.
In both of these cases, your may not be aware that anything is even happening. You don’t know why you feel the way you do. However, you do know that you are not happy with the current circumstances. If you are unhappy with some area of your life, it is important to take some time and examine that area. Are their any specific issues or patterns that you can see? Can you trace those issues back to a particular time or event in your life? Can you see how your brain might be trying to protect you from something. Just noticing that something is an issue can really help a situation. You can’t do anything about things that are in your subconscious until you bring them into your conscious mind. The first step to fixing anything is to become aware of it.
Have you even been really anxious over something that you didn’t think seemed like a big deal? Your body is reacting to some perceived danger, but you are not sure what it is. Sometimes in order to get out of the fight or flight mode, we just need to tell our brains that we are not in danger. This may sound simple, but that part of your brain doesn’t think, it just reacts. It sees a lion and it tells you to run. But maybe this lion is in zoo and behind bars. It doesn’t differentiate in the circumstance, it just reacts. If you grew up in a house with a lot of yelling, your body may react to all yelling as if you are in danger. However, sometimes their may be shouting for joy over winning a football game or celebrating the new year. If you find your body tensing up evaluate the situation and tell your mind you are not in danger. Your mind believes what you tell it.
If you have noticed that you have certain patterns, such as putting up walls, or being someone who you are not, then there are things you can do to fix these things. First of all, after you noticed the pattern, you can ask God for help with it. If we continually turn our faults or difficulties over to God, He will help us with them. God can do more for us in 5 minutes of prayer than we could do in our whole lives. Another great way to help you deal with issues that were hiding in your subconscious is to take it to an Unbound Prayer Session. I am not sure if you have heard of the book that was written by Neal Lazano titled Unbound: A Practical Guide To Deliverance. An Unbound Prayer Session is based on his deliverance ministry. The book discusses several doors that the enemy uses to gain access to our soul. We may have opened these doors accidentally without knowing what we were really doing. However, this book gives us the keys to lock those doors so that the enemy no longer has access. This is of course a really simplified brief description of the book. If you are not happy with the way things are in your life. If you see any patterns of worry, anxiety, depression, or any others patters in your life that you are unhappy with I suggest you read this book and see how you can be delivered from those feelings.
This verse above is talking about how the good at the end is far better than the pain that you are going through. If you are someone that has experienced a lot of pain, I hope that this verse brings you some comfort. Maybe write this verse down somewhere you can see it often. When things get tough remind yourself that there is a joy that the pain can’t even compare with. God will carry you through your tough times and then will reward you in the end. Sometimes the only way to get to the place you want to go is through the pain. The good news is that you don’t have to do it alone. God is there to do it with you!
Dear Heavenly Father, I ask that you bless all those listening to this episode today. Lord we ask that you are with all those that are suffering right now. We ask that you instill inside their hearts that “the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” Lord, help us to remember that in the hard times. Help us to know you are with us all the time in the good times and the bad times. Help us to remember that you love us more than anything. Lord, if there is anything in our lives that we need to be delivered from, help shine a light on it so that we can let it go and move forward. If anyone listening to this episode really needs an Unbound prayer session then I ask for you to put that on their heart to reach out and try to find one, or for them to get the book. Heavenly Father you are so very amazing and we are so thankful that you are there for us every step of the way. We love you so much and we ask all of this in accordance with your will and in Jesus’ holy name, Amen.