Then the LORD took note of Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah as He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the appointed time of which God had spoken to him. -Genesis 21:1-2
Is the pathway to glory paved with suffering? Sometimes.
At least it was for three key couples in Biblical history – Abraham and Sarah, Rebekah and Isaac, and Jacob and Rachel. The Lord promised their descendants would be exceedingly numerous, yet all three couples struggled for years to have any children. Jacob and Rachel waited seven long years before they had Joseph, their first child together. Abraham and Sarah waited 26 years from the time of God’s promise of Isaac until his birth.
Still, despite the heartache and disillusionment of these patriarchs and matriarchs of the faith, the Lord not only delivered earthly sons, but His own only-begotten Son also came through their bloodlines. Glory came but it took some time, and glory was ushered in along paths of pain.
During my battle with Stage IV metastatic melanoma, I wondered how lying on my back in a hospital bed could possibly result in any good. As a pastor, I thought my time would be better spent preaching sermons and counseling people. Yet the Lord taught me so many lessons in my weakened state – lessons like this one on His pathways to glory, which I share now in blogs, books and speaking opportunities with Stronghold Ministry.
Maybe when God wants to accomplish something, He marks it with struggle so humans know their limits and give all glory to Him. Maybe He does more through our weaknesses than through our strengths.
Do you despise the trials in your life? Maybe you shouldn’t.
Lord, when You ask us to suffer, help us catch glimpses of the glory that will inevitably follow.
