Troubles
MARCH 5, 2024

If children, then heirs—heirs of God and joint heirs with Christ, if indeed we suffer with Him, that we may also be glorified together.
Romans 8:17

Recommended Reading: Romans 8:31-35
Salesmen speak about the features and benefits of a product. What if one of the features described was suffering that resulted from using the product? Sometimes new Christians are surprised to discover that they still have troubles in life after becoming a follower of Jesus. They feel the “product” wasn’t presented fairly.

Jesus told His disciples that “in the world you will have tribulation” (John 16:33). That was not to scare them but to prepare them. Paul explained further: In Christ, we are “joint heirs” with Him. As “joint heirs,” one of the things we inherit is to “suffer with Him” that we might also share in His glory (Romans 8:17). Paul then spent the next 22 verses of Romans 8 (verses 18-39) explaining the suffering we may experience in this world but that in Christ we are “more than conquerors” (verse 37). God uses everything we experience—even our troubles—to conform us to the image of Christ (verses 28-29). Nothing in this world—not even our sins—can separate us from the love of God (verses 34-39).

Whether our troubles are from the world or of our own making, God is faithful. Give Him thanks today for His faithful love.

Shall light troubles make you forget weighty mercies?
John Flavel