Good morning. Remember: we are suffering for Jesus. For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the anxious longing of the creation waits eagerly for the revealing of the sons of God. Even the creation gets in on the act. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of Him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself also will be set free from its slavery to corruption into the freedom of the glory of the children of God. For we know that the whole creation groans and suffers the pains of childbirth together until now. And not only this, but also we ourselves, having the first fruits of the Spirit, even we ourselves groan within ourselves, waiting eagerly for our adoption as sons, the redemption of our body. I guess you could say for both the creation and ourselves; no pain – no gain. It’s easy to see why some Christians give up. At times life can be really hard. That makes it difficult to keep on keeping on. We can sometimes be like children who cannot fathom what great things will happen if they go through a little bit of “suffering“ right now. It reminds you of those stories about someone digging for some treasure and giving up just short of the goal. All we have to do is to remember Jesus. He endured His suffering in order to obtain the goal. Father help us to keep our eyes focused on the prize, not on the struggle necessary to obtain it.

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