For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us. For the creation waits with eager longing for the revealing of the sons of God. For the creation was subjected to futility, not willingly, but because of him who subjected it, in hope that the creation itself will be set free from its bondage to corruption and obtain the freedom of the glory of the children of God. Romans 8:18-21
The way Paul talks about present suffering compared to future glory forces me to rethink my definitions of discomfort. Today’s world pushes immediate relief and instant solutions, but Paul lifts my eyes to something far more lasting. Creation itself, he says, is groaning for redemption—just like many of us quietly groan under anxieties we don’t voice. It’s striking how much the planet’s own instability mirrors human instability. Environmental crises, social unraveling, and personal burnout all feel like echoes of that same groaning Paul describes. However, Paul says that hope is not naïve—it’s rooted in the absolute truth of God’s future restoration. This passage invites me to sit with the tension rather than fix it quickly. It doesn’t shame the groaning but gives it meaning, and that is strangely freeing in a world that tells us groaning equals failure.
APPLICATION
Today I want to acknowledge the parts of my life that feel like they’re groaning rather than
pretending they don’t exist. I’ll intentionally name one specific frustration and hold it before God as something He promises to redeem. God calls me to joy in Him even though we groan for His triumphant return.