What pain are you currently carrying?
I am thirty-three weeks pregnant with my third child, a baby girl. Don’t get me wrong, we are absolutely thrilled! But the days are dragging on with nagging hip pain that won’t go away no matter how much physical therapy I attend. It’s a sharp pain that reminds me consistently that I am five years older than I was for my first pregnancy. It’s a sharp pain that reminds me that I am a woman in need—a woman in need of help to get off the couch. It’s no secret that pain humbles you. If I had a transcript of my conversations with the Lord, you would see the question, “How will I make it through this?” asked more than once.
Do you know what helps me? There is sure hope ahead. Soon, in just seven weeks, this burden of pain will be lifted at pregnancy’s end. And even better, I will lay eyes on the baby girl God has knit together in my womb. I will see the face I have been longing to meet for eight months now. If I can persevere, if I can cling to hope, there is joy ahead. Oh, what a wondrous thought that is for this pain-stricken mama!
What’s even greater is that no matter the season, no matter the pain, the same sure hope is true for you. As followers of Christ, we too have the promise of a resurrection in the future when we will receive new bodies that are pain-free and glorious as Christ is glorious. Better still, we will meet our heavenly Father face-to-face. We will reign alongside our Friend and King Jesus. There is promised hope to come for our pain.
No More Pain
Just as I can look forward to my hip pain going away after pregnancy, we can all look forward to a future end to our pain. When Jesus returns, Scripture teaches us that our buried bodies will be raised in strength—we will gain spiritual bodies that are pain-free (1 Corinthians 15:44). Our bodies will be raised in glory as Jesus was raised in glory (verse 43). We will live forever with our Savior.
Revelation also proclaims this glorious truth. Upon Jesus’s return, God says, “Look, I am making everything new!” (Revelation 21:5). And in this new Creation, God will wipe every tear from the eyes of His people: “Death will be no more; grief, crying, and pain will be no more, because the previous things have passed away” (verse 4). Scripture proclaims a day when our bodies will be free of aches, free of sickness, free of chronic illness, free of brokenness in any way, shape, or form. But it also declares we will be free of emotional pain as well. There will be no more tears to cry—there will be nothing present to cause tears. Rather, we will worship our God unhindered forevermore.
It’s hard to imagine an existence this good. It’s hard to wrap our minds around a pain-free, joy-filled life—but in Christ, that privilege is yours. The back pain you struggle against, the torn muscle that nags you, the emotional toil you endure within your family, the disappointment you’ve weathered, will all be wiped away. This is a future hope that helps us persevere through our groanings as we live step by step, day by day in anticipation of the glory ahead.
Face-To-Face
As great as a painless promise is, even better will be finally meeting the God who has heard every one of our prayers. Yes, just as I will soon stare into the eyes of my daughter for the first time—one day, we will meet God face-to-face. No one in history has been granted this privilege, and yet, in eternity we will live in His presence forevermore. Revelation 22:3–4 teaches us: “No longer will there be any curse. The throne of God and of the Lamb will be in the city, and his servants will serve him. They will see his face, and his name will be on their foreheads.” It’s the great homecoming; the grand reunion; the deepest desire of our hearts fulfilled; it’s meeting our beloved Father who has carried us through even the darkest of valleys. We taste the presence of God today on earth, but one day, we will savor God’s presence in full forever. We dip our toes in the water of who He is today, but one day, we will be engulfed by His majesty.
We can only begin to imagine how incredible meeting Jesus will be, but we can rest in faith that dwelling in His presence will be even better than we can imagine. The Apostle Paul declares that he is convinced, “that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is going to be revealed to us” (Romans 8:18). Therefore, we persevere in faith that what we cannot see with our eyes today, we will experience in the future.
Endurance takes faith—it takes trusting God at His Word. It takes believing that the pain we feel in these temporary bodies is not the end of our story. It takes denying ourselves today, in anticipation of glory to come. It takes daily dependence upon our Heavenly Father who sustains us today, and will sustain us forevermore. Endurance requires faith.
I can feel the rolls and kicks and jabs of my daughter now, but I do not know the sound of her voice.
I can see my belly growing as the weeks go by, but I have not felt the weight of her in my arms.
I can feel the wear and tear of pregnancy on my body, but I have faith that all of it—every groan of pain—will be worth meeting my little girl.
And yet, just as evidence of my body assures me of my baby girl’s arrival, evidence all around us assures us of God’s faithfulness. We read of God’s redemption all throughout Scripture. We see HIs promises fulfilled. We experience His grace in saving—even us—from our sin through the death of His Son. We see His work in our own lives today. We commune with Him in prayer. We behold His glory in the budding flowers, the roaring waves, and the steady march of the ants along the sidewalk. We cling to this evidence and grow in joyful anticipation of meeting the One to whom our hearts belong.
In this faith, we walk. In this faith, we endure. In this faith, we hope.
There is an end date to our pain. We have a promise that we will meet our Beloved face-to-face.
