September 23 Daily Devotional

Bible Verse

"For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed in us" (Rom. 8:18).

Devotional

The world—where not a spot is found unharmed by the curse—must be a world of suffering. The world, where sin holds universal reign—contaminating every object and darkening every scene—must be a world of suffering. The world—where the spirit is wounded, and the heart is broken, where reason is deposed, and hope languishes, where the eye weeps, and the nerve trembles, where sickness wastes, and death reigns—must be a world of suffering. Christ does not exempt his followers from any of these forms of woe.

But with this truth, on the other hand, he soothes and reconciles—they are the sufferings of "this present time." They are just momentary. They will soon be over—forever over. We live in a dying world—a world that is passing away. Time is short. It is ever on the wing. And we are borne each moment nearer and nearer to our Father's house; of whose occupants it is said, "He will wipe away every tear from their eyes, and death shall be no more, neither shall there be mourning, nor crying, nor pain anymore, for the former things have passed away" (Rev. 21:4).

Oh, how gentle is the admonition—"Arise and go, for this is no place to rest, because of uncleanness that destroys with a grievous destruction" (Mic. 2:10)! Then comes the glory—"the glory that is to be revealed in us." What word can more appropriately express the future condition of the saints? The world claims the title, but it has no claim to the reality. What is the glory of science—of learning—of rank—of wealth, but a tinseled pageant, a meteor blazing for a moment, and then disappearing into eternal night? But the glory that awaits the suffering Christian is a real and substantial glory. At present it is veiled. The world cannot see it at all. The believer can only behold it through faith's telescope. But the day of its full, clear revelation awaits us. It draws near.

It will be a glory revealed in us. This truth may startle some. "What!" they exclaim, "a glory to be revealed in me! In me, who can scarcely reflect a solitary ray of light! In me, so dark, so sinful, living so far from communion with the Father of lights! Can it be that in me this glory will be revealed?" That's precisely what the Word of our God affirms. If you are a child of the light—even though you dwell in the world's shade and are often called to walk in great darkness—you shall one day outshine the brightness of the firmament and the stars forever and ever (Matt. 13:43).

"When we've been there ten thousand years,
bright shining as the sun,
we've no less days to sing God's praise
than when we'd first begun."

Be sure to read the Preface by Octavius Winslow and A Note from the Editor by Larry E. Wilson.

Larry Wilson is an ordained minister in the Orthodox Presbyterian Church. In addition to having served as the General Secretary of the Committee on Christian Education of the OPC (2000–2004) and having written a number of articles and booklets (such as God's Words for Worship and Why Does the OPC Baptize Infants) for New Horizons and elsewhere, he has pastored OPC churches in Minnesota, Indiana, and Ohio. We are grateful to him for his editing of Morning Thoughts, the OPC Daily Devotional for 2025.