Hope Amid Suffering, Glory Yet to Come

Devotional

Day 1: Present Sufferings Outweighed by Unseen Glory

The weight of today’s pain feels inescapable, yet Paul insists our hardest trials are trivial compared to the coming glory. Like a child clutching a pebble while unaware of the inheritance awaiting them, we fixate on present struggles instead of eternal reality. This glory isn’t theoretical—it’s as tangible as Christ’s resurrected body, a future so radiant it rewrites our understanding of pain. Even creation strains toward this day, its earthquakes and storms mere birth pangs before deliverance. To “consider” this glory, as Paul did, means training our gaze beyond what’s temporary. What if our deepest sorrows are but shadows eclipsed by dawn? [49:25]

“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” (Romans 8:18, ESV)

Reflection: What current struggle dominates your thoughts? How might intentionally “considering” Christ’s promised glory reshape your perspective today?

Day 2: Creation’s Groaning and the Promise of Liberation

Hurricanes, cancer, and broken relationships all trace back to Eden’s curse—creation “subjected to futility” like a soap bubble destined to pop. Yet this futility isn’t fate. God Himself imposed the curse, but with a redemptive purpose: the entire cosmos awaits liberation alongside believers. When a forest fire clears deadwood for new growth, or a mother endures labor for her child’s life, creation whispers that pain precedes transformation. Our suffering isn’t random; it’s creation’s collective groan toward resurrection. [55:17]

“For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God.” (Romans 8:20-21, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you see “futility” in your world? How does recognizing creation’s shared longing for redemption comfort you?

Day 3: Inward Groans and the Firstfruits of Hope

Believers groan like refugees in a foreign land, aching for home. Even with the Spirit’s firstfruits—peace, conviction, love—we still limp under sin’s residue. A pastor regrets harsh words. A widow misses her husband’s laugh. A recovering addict battles old cravings. These groans aren’t failures but birth pains, proof we’re being remade. Just as Samwise Gamgee awoke in Gondor’s healing fields, we’ll open our eyes to bodies and relationships unbroken. Our groans are GPS signals pointing heavenward. [01:02:03]

“And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies.” (Romans 8:23, ESV)

Reflection: What personal “groan” feels heaviest today? How does the Spirit’s presence in you turn that groan into a prayer?

Day 4: Hope as the Engine of Patient Endurance

Biblical hope isn’t wishful thinking—it’s the engine that fuels endurance, like a runner visualizing the finish line. Paul links suffering to endurance, endurance to character, and character to hope (Romans 5:3-4). This hope thrives in paradox: the more we’re stripped of earthly comforts, the brighter eternity shines. A persecuted Iranian Christian, a Ukrainian under bombs, a parent burying a child—these saints often hope most fiercely because they’ve lost all else. Our waiting isn’t passive; it’s active trust in what’s guaranteed. [01:12:14]

“Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” (Romans 8:24-25, ESV)

Reflection: When has suffering deepened your hope? What practical step can you take today to “wait with patience”?

Day 5: The Spirit’s Role in Abounding Hope

The Holy Spirit isn’t a passive observer but the divine midwife delivering our hope. He translates theological truths into heart-level assurance, like turning sheet music into a symphony. When grief numbs us or sin entangles, the Spirit intercedes with “groans too deep for words” (Romans 8:26). He’s the down payment of glory, making abstract promises feel as real as a child’s hand in ours. To “abound in hope” (Romans 15:13) means leaning into His whispers: the dawn is coming. [01:14:40]

“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” (Romans 15:13, ESV)

Reflection: Where do you need the Spirit to strengthen your hope? How might you cooperate with Him today to “abound” rather than merely survive?

Sermon Summary

Paul sets the sufferings of this present time beside the glory that is to be revealed, and he says they are not worth comparing. Suffering is real, sometimes very heavy, and it is not evidence that Christ has abandoned his people. Christ so identifies with his church that when Saul persecuted believers, Jesus said, “Why are you persecuting me?” Union with Christ means that his people suffer with him, and that he is with them in their trials.

The health and wealth gospel cannot stand before Romans 8. Paul does not say that suffering earns glory, but that suffering is a normal part of the Christian life before glory comes. The apostle who was whipped, beaten, stoned, shipwrecked, hungry, cold, and endangered could say that coming glory will make present afflictions seem inconsequential. The glory to come does not make present pain unreal, but it gives present pain its proper perspective.

Creation itself waits with eager longing because creation was subjected to futility and bondage to corruption under God’s curse following Adam’s sin. Hurricanes, floods, disease, decay, death, and broken hopes bear witness that the world is not as it ought to be. Futility is like a soap bubble: it shimmers for a moment, promises much, then bursts. Yet God subjected creation in hope, with an assured expectation that he will set it free into the freedom of the glory of the children of God.

Creation groans in the pains of childbirth, and God’s children groan inwardly as well. The Spirit has given first fruits of new life, faith, peace, power against sin, and love, but the body has not yet been redeemed. Adoption is already true, but its full public unveiling awaits the resurrection, when Christ gives his people bodies like his own. Childbirth pains are painful, but they are not pointless, because new life is coming.

Hope, in Paul’s sense, is not wishful thinking. Hope is an assured expectation grounded in God’s promise. The new heavens and new earth will bring an end to tears, cancer, decay, sin, anxious minds, deteriorating bodies, and all that now makes God’s people groan. The Holy Spirit sustains that hope, filling believers with joy and peace in believing as they wait with patience for the glory to come.

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Key Takeaways

1. Suffering comes before shared glory [43:25] Union with Christ does not exempt believers from pain. Christ’s people suffer in a fallen world while they await the full inheritance promised to them. Christ remains with them in that suffering, not as a distant observer, but as the Savior united to his people. [43:25]
2. Coming glory reframes present pain [49:25] Paul does not minimize grief, illness, persecution, or loss. The glory to be revealed is simply so great that even deep affliction will finally be seen in a new light. Faith learns to consider present suffering in relation to eternity rather than treating present circumstances as the final word. [49:25]
3. Creation groans beneath the curse [55:57] The world’s corruption is not natural in the sense of being good or permanent. Decay, disaster, death, and futility belong to a creation subjected to God’s judgment because of sin. God’s judgment, however, was given in hope, because the curse will not have the last word. [55:57]
4. Groaning is not pointless suffering [01:05:48] Childbirth gives Paul the right image for Christian suffering: real pain that anticipates new life. The groaning of creation and the groaning of believers both point forward to resurrection and renewal. God uses present trials to deepen dependence, form endurance, and bear witness to faith. [65:48]
5. The Spirit makes hope abound [01:13:24] Christian hope is not produced by natural optimism or favorable circumstances. The Holy Spirit pours God’s love into the heart and gives joy and peace in believing. God’s people should ask the God of hope to sustain them until faith becomes sight.

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Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[38:34] - Romans 8:18-25
[41:56] - Children, Heirs, and Suffering with Christ
[42:43] - The Error of Health and Wealth
[44:21] - Christ Identifies with His Church
[49:09] - Present Sufferings and Coming Glory
[52:14] - Considering the Glory to Come
[54:49] - Creation Subjected to Futility
[57:52] - Bondage, Corruption, and Hope
[61:16] - Creation and Believers Groan
[67:11] - Adoption and the Redemption of Bodies
[71:21] - Waiting in Unseen Hope
[73:24] - Abounding in Hope by the Spirit

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Romans 8:18-25
“For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation has been groaning together in the pains of childbirth until now. And not only the creation, but we ourselves, who have the firstfruits of the Spirit, groan inwardly as we wait eagerly for adoption as sons, the redemption of our bodies. For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we wait for it with patience.” [38:34]

Acts 9:4-5
“And falling to the ground, he heard a voice saying to him, 'Saul, Saul, why are you persecuting me?' And he said, 'Who are you, Lord?' And he said, 'I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting.” [44:21]

Romans 15:13
“May the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, so that by the power of the Holy Spirit you may abound in hope.” [01:13:24]

Observation questions

In Romans 8:18–25, what three groups are described as waiting or groaning, and what is each one waiting for? [01:01:41]
What does Paul say creation has been subjected to, and what future freedom does he say creation will receive? [55:43]
What present gifts of the Spirit do believers have even while they still groan and wait for the redemption of their bodies? [01:03:01]
In Acts 9:4–5, how does Jesus describe Saul’s persecution of Christians, and what does that show about Jesus’ relationship to his church? [45:31]

Interpretation questions

Paul says believers suffer “with” Christ before they are glorified with him. Why is this different from saying that suffering earns a person glory? [43:25]
How does Jesus’ identification with persecuted believers in Acts 9 help explain what it means for Christians not to suffer alone?
Paul compares present suffering with future glory, not because present pain is unreal, but because coming glory is greater. How can this truth give perspective without dismissing someone’s grief, illness, or loss? [49:25]
Why is childbirth a fitting picture for the groaning of creation and God’s children? What does that image communicate about both the pain of the present and the certainty of what is coming? [01:06:19]

Application questions

What kind of suffering or groaning feels most present in your life right now—physical weakness, grief, disappointment, anxiety, conflict, or the ongoing battle with sin? How does knowing that Christ is united to his people meet you in that struggle? [45:46]
When hardship comes, are you tempted to see it as evidence that God has abandoned you or that something has gone wrong with your faith? How does Romans 8 challenge that assumption? [42:43]
What are some “soap bubbles” you may be tempted to build your hope on—health, a relationship, financial security, a job, or a particular plan? How can you redirect that hope toward God’s promised future? [58:34]
Where do you most feel the unfinished nature of life in this fallen world? How might the promise of redeemed bodies and a renewed creation help you wait with patience? [01:07:28]
Is there a particular way you groan over your own sin—words you have spoken, pride, lack of love, or habits you want changed? What would it look like this week to bring that groaning honestly to God while trusting that he is still at work in you? [01:05:02]
Romans 15:13 connects hope with joy and peace in believing through the power of the Holy Spirit. What specific situation should you bring before the God of hope this week, asking him to help you abound in hope rather than merely wishing circumstances would improve? [01:13:32]

Sermon Clips

54s

“There will be a day when all that is sad now will be undone for everyone who is in Christ. All our struggles, all our struggles with bodies that deteriorate, All our struggles with minds that become anxious. All our struggles with our sin. All our pride. All our lack of love. All that ought trouble us now. All will be undone, and there will be a glory in us and in our fellowship with the living god. A glory that is unimaginable.”

51s

“Hope is not just a wishful thinking. When you see the word hope in the New Testament, it means an assured expectation. And what he's saying here is that God has an assured expectation that one day he would bring this creation, its vanity, its corruption to an end because he will bring in a new heavens and new earth in which glory will will reign. And there will be no more tears and no more pain and no more cancer and no more strokes, and no more vanity of our expectations burst like soap bubbles. It will be a glory. And that's what his plan is.”

45s

“But childbirth leads to something great, doesn't it? A new life among us. A new life among us. It's not a pointless groaning. And what he's saying here is that our suffering is not pointless either. God has a purpose for us in the midst of suffering to grow us, to cause us to depend upon him, the whole variety to bear witness to him by our faith. So he's saying here that we groan now, but one day there's gonna be a coming glory.”

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First Presbyterian Church Fort Oglethorpe This sermon · AI assistant

Why is Christian suffering considered necessary before glory?

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