Hope That Is Seen Is Not Hope

This passage deals with the apostle Paul's attitude of counting suffering as not worth comparing with glory, and with the spiritual maturity revealed through the severe trials Job went through. It stresses that suffering that is hard to understand by the world's standards is in fact the process of growing into God's image, and something that believers who hope for Christ's glory must rightly bear. In particular, while Job's friends interpreted his suffering as simple cause and effect, Job acknowledged his own weakness and God's greatness and kept his faith without wavering.

When believers endure without leaving God, the suffering they go through leads to a blessing that cannot be compared with the glory to be revealed. But many lose hope and complain because of the reality they can see and their present discomfort, and often fail to understand the confession of the spiritually mature Job. The Holy Spirit helps us in this weakness, intercedes with groanings that cannot be uttered, and holds on to us so that we can keep our faith to the end.

When we remember that the suffering we go through is ultimately a process used for God's glory, we can endure without fear. Do you acknowledge that a life that bears present trials and waits for an eternal hope that is not seen is true maturity of faith?