Faith is a gift from God (Rom 12:3 – “… God has allotted to each a measure of faith.”).  There are times when God may give us the faith to move mountains (Matt 17:20, 20:21). But there are also times when God intends us to climb the mountain and to trust Him for the faith to do so.  Whether it’s moving mountains, or climbing them, God has a purpose for both.

What if our greatest challenge in life does not get easier? Consider these verses.

We Will Rejoice all the More at His Coming

1PE 4:12-13 – 12  “Beloved, do not be surprised at the fiery ordeal among you, which comes upon you for your testing, as though some strange thing were happening to you; 13  but to the degree that you share the sufferings of Christ, keep on rejoicing; so that also at the revelation of His glory, you may rejoice with exultation.”

• Question – Are you ready for His coming?

We Will Know (Have an Intimate Understanding) of His Grace & Power

2CO 12:9-10 – 9 “And He has said to me, ‘My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.’ Most gladly, therefore, I will rather boast about my weaknesses, that the power of Christ may dwell in me. 10 Therefore I am well content with weaknesses, with insults, with distresses, with persecutions, with difficulties, for Christ’s sake; for when I am weak, then I am strong.

• Thought – You won’t really know His grace & power if you don’t need His grace & power.

We Will Know Him, the Power of His Resurrection and the Fellowship of His Sufferings

PHI 3:7-11 – 7 But whatever things were gain to me, those things I have counted as loss for the sake of Christ. 8 More than that, I count all things to be loss in view of the surpassing value of knowing Christ Jesus my Lord, for whom I have suffered the loss of all things, and count them but rubbish in order that I may gain Christ, 9 and may be found in Him, not having a righteousness of my own derived from the Law, but that which is through faith in Christ, the righteousness which comes from God on the basis of faith, 10 that I may know Him, and the power of His resurrection and the fellowship of His sufferings, being conformed to His death; 11 in order that I may attain to the resurrection from the dead.

• Question – How well do you know Him? Is that well enough?

We Will Be Perfect, Complete and Lacking in Nothing

JAS 1:2-4  – 2 Consider it all joy, my brethren, when you encounter various trials, 3 knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. 4 And let endurance have its perfect result so that you may be perfect and complete, lacking in nothing.

• Question – Is there something you lack? Could your trials be the doors to your completion?

 We Will Have Proven Character and Hope

ROM 5:3-5 – 3 And not only this, but we also exult in our tribulations, knowing that tribulation brings about perseverance; 4 and perseverance, proven character; and proven character, hope; 5 and hope does not disappoint, because the love of God has been poured out within our hearts through the Holy Spirit who was given to us.

• Thought – Our tribulation drives us to Him. Our hope is built on Him.

We Will Store Up an Eternal Weight of Glory Far Beyond All Comparison

2 COR 4:17-18 – 17 Momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.

• Question – What is the value of something beyond all comparison?

Closing thought. – In heaven, we will not have the trials, tribulations, difficulties, etc. identified in the verses above. But, what God accomplishes in us through these things in this present life will influence our eternity.  Sure, for eternity, every citizen of heaven will continuously discover amazing new things about our awesome, infinite God. But there are certain things that we will take from this life into eternity, and they can only be accomplished here and now.

There is an intimate knowledge of Jesus that only comes as we know the fellowship of His sufferings, and that can only happen here and now. It is only here and now that our character can be proven as we persevere through tribulation. It is only here and now that we can store up an eternal weight of glory beyond comparison.  These are the things we take with us into eternity, and they come to us when we when we trust Him for the power to climb the mountain.