The Everlasting Weight of Glory

THE EVERLASTING WEIGHT OF GLORY

“And give thanks FOR everything to God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” - Ephesians 5:20

This is such a hard verse.  I Thessalonians 5:18 is much easier to accept which instructs us to “Be thankful IN all circumstances.”

We can conceive of thanking God while IN pain, but the thought of thanking Him FOR it is quite another thing.  How do we scrape up the wherewithal to thank Him for the very things we have dreaded and prayed would never happen?  How do we thank Him for the bad news, the disappointment, the betrayal or the death?

Like a child with a fear of needles, we are sick and want to get better, but we are terrified of the prescription. What happens inside our body to fight infection and disease as a result of the medicine is invisible.  So we must face the fear and wincing pain of our prescription, and trust that it will do the work in us that we need. We hold fast to the hope that:

“...This light, temporary nature of our suffering is producing for us an everlasting weight of glory, far beyond any comparison, because we do not look for things that can be seen but for things that cannot be seen. For things that can be seen are temporary, but things that cannot be seen are eternal.” - 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

Father, we trust You, and we lift he very things we are praying against—the things we hate, dread and beg a reprieve from. We ask to be spared, but say, “Not my will, but Yours be done.” (Luke 22:42)

We choose to praise and thank You for them. This sacrifice of praise—this offering in the dying to our flesh—receive it as holy and acceptable (Romans 12:1).

In our surrender, may the resurrected Christ become alive within us.  Take what feels so painful and transform us for remarkable good. Be with us on the altar.  Overshadow us the crucible.  Burn away all that is unholy.

We thank You IN and FOR our circumstances. We worship You through tears.  And we trust in Your faithfulness to complete the work You began in us for Your glory and for our eternal good.  In Jesus’ Name ❤️

https://www.facebook.com/Prayers-of-a-Ragamuffin-Warrior-171515087035441/

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