I remember years ago and a trip made to Disney World. I was there with a few friends and it was about time for the electric parade in the evening. We had not taken on Space Mountain as of yet due to the extended wait time for that ride. So, we skipped the parade and went for the ride. As predicted, the line was short and we were able to get through pretty quickly. So quickly in fact that we rode again 3 more times in about an hour.
“16The Spirit himself bears witness with our spirit that we are children of God, 17and if children, then heirs—heirs of God and fellow heirs with Christ, provided we suffer with him in order that we may also be glorified with him. 18For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.” – Romans 8:16-18 (ESV)
How does my story relate to the verses above? Well here goes. In our trip to Disney World and related to Space Mountain, we determined that the suffering of the long wait times (approximately 2 hours) for the ride were not worth the 90 second ride we would experience. I was comparing the suffering of the wait with the thrill of the ride, and decided that they did not measure up.
Boy was I wrong. You see, I loved the ride, so much so that we went back through and rode again 3 more times. We took the easy way and quantity was overflowing. But, the cost of that quantity was apathy to the overall experience. My disdain for the suffering negatively affected my enjoyment to the point that I don’t even really remember the ride so much as the fact that we rode 4 times in about an hour.
I find myself angry with God due to the seemingly lack of reward for the work I am doing here in this world. I am comparing my suffering of persecution to the glory of my reward in heaven. I am more concerned with all of the obstacles that I am not able to look forward to the reward of glory and that is creating my apathy to the rewards to come.
I have to look at the reward and know that the suffering I will/may/do endure of are no comparison to the glory I will experience. I have to remember that I am here to glorify God and not to please myself. I cannot compare my suffering with the reward.
What have you been avoiding due to the suffering you may have to endure? Are you really wanting that, or only wanting to complete the task quickly? Are you spending too much time comparing the suffering with the reward?
Trevor's Thoughts 