The paradox of suffering and joy.
A call to worship.
Themes
Suffering • Joy • Trials • Difficulty • Pain • Tears • Brokenness • Eternal glory • The weight of glory
From an eternal perspective, all our suffering, no matter how severe, is like a passing shadow. It will end. But is that what brings joy?
Maybe.
Scripture reading
2 Corinthians 4:17 1 John 3:2 Romans 8:17–18 Revelation 21:4
This call to worship1 comes from thinking about suffering and the paradox of suffering and joy. It comes from a couple of letters that Paul had written to a couple of churches and from letters that John also wrote.
Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. Dear friends, now we are children of God, and what we will be has not yet been made known. But we know that when Christ appears, we shall be like him, for we shall see him as he is. Now, if we are children, then we are heirs— heirs of God and co-heirs with Christ, if indeed we share in his sufferings in order that we may also share in his glory. I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us. He will wipe every tear from their eyes. There will be no more death or mourning or crying or pain, for the old order of things has passed away
Prayer
Father in heaven, we confess that experiencing suffering and experiencing joy seems a bit of a paradox. We know that suffering is to be expected. It’s not an anomaly for us who are in Christ. It’s actually an integral part of our lives. Suffering is inevitable. But how is it, really, Father, that suffering, which seems so overwhelming now, is to be thought of as "light and momentary”? But it is. It is when it’s viewed through Your lens of eternity, because our suffering, our trials, our difficulties are not the end. You’ve told us so. It’s not that they will end, and knowing that is what brings joy. Relief that is eventually coming and joy right now— these don’t really seem like the same things. Our suffering is temporal, even when intense, and it is ultimately fleeting, relative to Your eternity. But our suffering, Father, seems to come with an overwhelming “forever” feeling about it. It dominates our time, and so it feels like relief will never come. But from Your eternal perspective, all our suffering, no matter how severe, is like a passing shadow. It will end. But again, is that what brings joy? Maybe. What does bring joy is that these sufferings of ours are somehow achieving for us a very particular eternal glory. An eternal glory that far, far outweighs our sufferings. An eternal glory that comes with a perfect, unbroken communion with You — the deepest longing of our being: to know and be known by You, our Father. An eternal glory that comes with an end to all suffering, all pain, all death, all tears, where the brokenness of our world will be no more. An eternal glory that comes with an end to our struggle with sin, that comes with us being made fully righteous and fully holy in Your presence, Father. An eternal glory that comes with peace as we’ve never known, rest as we’ve never had, unending joy, and eternal pleasures found in You alone. An eternal glory that comes with us being fully transformed into the likeness of Christ and sharing in the eternal glory of Christ Himself as Your very own Son. An eternal glory that comes with an inheritance in your kingdom, which includes reigning with Christ, includes experiencing a new heaven and a new earth, and includes enjoying the riches of Your grace forever. The eternal weight of all that glory — all of it! — somehow achieved by our suffering, and promised to us by You, is so substantial that it makes any earthly suffering seem light. And it is our suffering that is somehow achieving this eternal glory for us. And whatever all of that is, it is also capable of breaking through from eternity and impacting us right now, creating in us a kind of joy we cannot describe and causing us, without our even imagining the possibility of it — causing us joy in the midst of our suffering. And so we do, Father, we focus on this future glory rather than our present pain, knowing that our suffering is not only momentary but purposeful. In the name of Jesus, in whose suffering we share, who we will be like, who we will see, who will wipe away all our tears, with whom we will be co-heirs, and in whose glory we will share, Amen
Inspiring resources
A call to worship creates wonderment, amazement, curiosity, yearning, captivation, provocation, hopefulness, thankfulness, affection, rapture, delight. As these mix together, the response is worship.
If this call to worship leaves you wondering or curious or provoked or hopeful, consider diving into this awesome book that inspired me.
1
This call to worship was given to the small assembly of Christians that gathered in Pathway Church, Beaverdam, Michigan, on Sunday, August 18, 2024.