“And He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Therefore most gladly I will rather boast in my infirmities, that the power of Christ may rest upon me.”
2 Corinthians 12:9
There are times in our lives when we pray earnestly for a matter, and the prayers are answered just as we had hoped. But that is not always the case. Sometimes the sickness remains, the difficulty lingers, or the problem is not removed. Why? Because God is not always glorified by taking away the difficulty—sometimes He is most glorified by sustaining us through it.
This was Paul’s experience in 2 Corinthians 12:7-10, when he pleaded three times for his thorn in the flesh to be removed. The Lord replied, “My grace is sufficient for you, for My strength is made perfect in weakness.” Paul could then say, “For when I am weak, then I am strong.”
God is glorified when we endure by relying on His strength. And in the process, something happens to us—we develop hope. Romans 5:3–5 says: “Tribulation produces perseverance; and perseverance, character; and character, hope. Now hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out in our hearts by the Holy Spirit.” Hope reminds us that death is not the end. The crisis you face is not the end of the story—it is part of the process leading to God’s greater purpose.
Psalm 42 encourages us when sorrow overwhelms us: “Why are you cast down, O my soul? And why are you disquieted within me? Hope in God; for I shall yet praise Him.”
Proverbs 10:28 says: “The hope of the righteous will be gladness, but the expectation of the wicked will perish.” You may be struggling now, but Jesus pointed us to eternal hope: “Let not your heart be troubled… I go to prepare a place for you… I will come again and receive you to Myself” (John 14:1-3). The ultimate ground of our hope is heaven itself.
This is our expected end. Everything else is part of the process. As 1 Peter 1:3-5 reminds us, God has begotten us again to a living hope through the resurrection of Christ, to an inheritance incorruptible and undefiled, reserved in heaven for us.
Anchor For Today:
Even though we face trials now, they refine our faith so that it may “be found to praise, honor, and glory at the revelation of Jesus Christ.”