Heartbreak: It can weaken even the strongest person. It will bring about doubts, confusion, and sadness. It creates within the mind a questioning of why and how. It can bring about tears, sadness, sleepless nights and bring you into a world that seems alone. It can come by way of the ending of a relationship, the death of a family member, the loss of a job, diagnosis of sickness, etc. Nobody is immune to heartbreak. I’ve seen heartbreak change the way people live, the way people trust, and the way people think. What heartbreak usually does is take away something from our lives that we feel like we have to have, or something that has become a part of our lives that we don’t want to live without. But aside from the negatives of heartbreak what can be learned from heartbreak? Inside of heartbreak can be found the understanding of what scripture references as the glory to be revealed to us.
Romans 8:18 states: For I consider the current sufferings are not worthy to be compared with the glory that is to be revealed to us.
This verse gives hope to the person that is struggling with any form of loss that causes heartbreak.
- For the person that has lost a loved one, this verse gives you hope.
- For the person that has just gotten out of a relationship, this verse gives you hope. For the person that has just recently lost a job this verse gives you hope.
- For the person that is just struggling with the day in and day out of life, this verse gives you hope.
When reading this verse what must be understood is that the hard times may continue. The glory to be revealed is not necessarily a pleasure that will be received on earth. Paul here is saying that his understanding of satisfaction is an eternal one. A satisfaction that even the struggles of earth cannot affect. John Piper refers to this as a Faith in Future Grace. Piper writes “God’s future grace towards us was purchased and guaranteed by his past grace toward us in Jesus’ death and resurrection.”[1] We have been given grace through Christ which is a gift that cannot be lost. When we place our faith in the eternity we will one day have with God we then see that the current sufferings can’t be compared. This means that for us we must have faith in this coming glory, a faith that the promises God has given to us will come to fruition when we leave this life and move into eternity. None of this is said to downplay the pains of heartbreak or the losses that you may be going through. What this is meant to do is give you a great hope, hope that can help you cope with and deal with the pain that you may be feeling right now. What’s so beautiful about the glory in Jesus is that in this life we can lose everything, and still the salvation, and faith in the coming eternity with Him cannot be taken from us. It is in the midst of heartbreak that God can use these moments of desperation to draw you closer to Him. So take a moment and breathe, call out to Him. Realize that despite the current struggles and pains these are merely just heartbreaks in the midst of eternity with a God that is calling you closer to Him every day. The glory to be revealed will be much greater than the pain you are feeling currently.
[1]John Piper, Battling Unbelief, (Colorado Springs: Multnomah Books), 17-18.
Totally needed to read this and speak these truths over my life in this season! I pray everyone reading this understand that the pain your feeling doesn’t compare to the joy that’s coming. Take hold of that and know that God is good.