BROADCASTS.com

READ: 1 CORINTHIANS 13:9-13; 2 CORINTHIANS 1:3-7\n\n\n\nHave you gone through something really hard lately? Maybe there\u2019s been sickness or a death in your family. Maybe your parents are separating, or your best friend moved away, or your family is struggling financially. Even if you haven\u2019t personally experienced suffering like this yet, chances are you know someone who has. As we go through life in a world that has been broken by sin, we might find ourselves asking, \u201cWhere is the hope in all this?\u201d\n\n\n\nIt may help to think about it this way. Have you ever seen a stained glass window? These works of art can be beautiful. But they look very different in the dark than they do in the light. When there\u2019s no light shining through the window, all we can see are a bunch of little pieces of dark glass. But when the light shines through them, we see vibrant colors that reveal the patterns or pictures the designer crafted there.\n\n\n\nLife can feel that way too sometimes. From our point of view, life can seem dark and dull, especially when we\u2019re going through hard times. But Jesus hasn\u2019t left us to suffer alone in the dark. He came into our broken world and lived among us, and He said, \u201cI am the light of the world. If you follow me, you won\u2019t have to walk in darkness, because you will have the light that leads to life\u201d (John 8:12). Jesus can shine through any difficulties we face\u2014He can make a beautiful picture of our lives (Romans 8:28-29).\n\n\n\nThat doesn\u2019t mean our lives will be easy. But Jesus will be with us through it all. He knows what it\u2019s like to go through terrible hardship\u2014He suffered and died to save us from sin. When we face hard times in our lives, He is close beside us, and He can use even the most difficult situations to help us grow in our relationship with Him and show others His love. He can shine through our suffering so we\u2014and others\u2014can see a clearer picture of who He is. \u2022 A. W. Smith\n\n\n\n\u2022 Jesus understands how we feel when we\u2019re hurting\u2014He faced terrible suffering and death to give us eternal life. But, when He returns, He will restore creation and raise all His people to live with Him forever; then suffering will be no more. And even now, He is with us. We can trust Him to make something beautiful out of our lives. What kinds of hard things have you experienced lately? Consider taking a moment to tell Him about whatever is weighing on you.\n\n\n\nNow we see things imperfectly, like puzzling reflections in a mirror, but then we will see everything with perfect clarity. All that I know now is partial and incomplete, but then I will know everything completely, just as God now knows me completely. 1 Corinthians 13:12 (NLT)