Ephesians 3:13
“Therefore I ask you not to lose heart at my tribulations on your behalf, for they are your glory.”
Here the Apostle Paul is saying, “Don’t worry about what I am going through, it is meant for your edification.
Tribulations are not all about punishment. Yes they can be corrective in nature but they also reshape us, refine us, that we might help others. How else can the world see the mystery of Christ in us – not when things are easy, not when things are comfy, but they see the mystery when things get rocky.
Yes, God allows Situations to be difficult, (the rain falls on the just and the unjust) but it is always for a purpose and it is always based in His love. The world gets to see the mystery of Christ in you, your hope of glory. And in seeing this mystery, they are drawn to the Master.
A.W. Tozer was right when he said that, “before God can use a man greatly, He must also allow him to be hurt deeply.”
The Truth
“Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies and God of all comfort, who comforts us in all our tribulation, that we may be able to comfort those who are in any trouble, with the comfort with which we ourselves are comforted by God. For as the sufferings of Christ abound in us, so our consolation also abounds through Christ.” (2 Corinthians 1:3-5)
