Built Through Trials, Bound for Eternal Glory
- meetgodattheedgeof
- Jul 1
- 2 min read
2 Corinthians 4:17–18
“For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever.” — 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NLT)
Let’s be honest—this verse can sound a little scary.
No one wants to suffer. Being sick isn’t fun. Being hurt is not fun. Anything outside of comfort definitely isn’t something we plan for. But if we’ve surrendered our lives to Christ—if we’ve ever stood up, raised our hands, and prayed that prayer of commitment—we’ve stepped into a beautiful new reality.
It’s exciting to know that your life has purpose and value in the eyes of the Creator of the universe. That realization is powerful and deeply reassuring. But here’s the thing I’ve learned from experience: once we step into this new life, it often feels like both the blessings and the battles intensify.
The hardships? Sometimes they hit harder than we’ve ever experienced. They shake us. They drive us to our knees—and that’s by design. These moments are opportunities for us to experience firsthand the love and power of our Heavenly Father. They build a personal history with Him that can’t be forged any other way.
And the blessings? Oh, how they expand. We begin to see all the ways we’re protected—often without even realizing there was a battle going on around us. Our Father is always victorious. Our needs are somehow always met. I’ve seen money stretch in impossible ways. I’ve given away what I had in faith, only to find it returned when I needed it most. These aren’t just coincidences—they’re God’s hand at work.
The challenge for us is that the negative things are so much easier to see. The good—the blessings, the favor, the quiet protections—often come silently, just as Jesus said:
“When you give to someone in need, don’t let your left hand know what your right hand is doing.”
We’re called to grow in understanding—to see that even an “uneventful” or “regular” day is a gift. That kind of day means you were protected. You were covered. That’s something to be thankful for.
All of this—the pain, the growth, the protection, the blessings—is shaping an eternal glory for us. A glory that far outweighs any hardship we endure. And it will last forever.
So don’t forget to thank your Heavenly Father for the “normal” days.
You are blessed. Amen.
“So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” — 2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLT)
