"But we all, with open face beholding as in a glass the glory of the Lord, are changed into the same image from glory to glory, even as by the Spirit of the Lord." - 2 Corinthians 3:18

"from glory to glory"

How beautiful. That when we go through suffering, deep deep suffering, that we are still being changed from glory to glory into God's image.

I have been going to a support group focused on suffering for quite some time now, and it has taught me sooo much about Jesus and having true hope through our suffering. We gather in a circle, and we share the deepest pains that we have ever felt-- we share our soul wounds. It is very special and so cool to see the transformative power of Jesus working in these new friends of mine lives. Someone from my group shared with us something so true that I wanted to share it with you. She said "When we are in a deep pit and such a dark, dark place of suffering, we actually relate to other people's suffering, too. And, it's not because of what type of suffering it is, it is because we both know the dark pain of suffering.

You see, it doesn't matter what kind of suffering you are dealing with to be able to relate and empathize and love you. I, and our Created for Glory community, are here to support and love you through any type of suffering-- whether it is trauma, grief, mental health, etc. Whatever it is, you have a place here. <3

"Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurace produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God's love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us." - Romans 5:3-5

Wow.

"and hope does not put us to shame"

When we have hope, friends, there is no room for the enemy to whisper the lies of shame to us. And, boy, do I know how hard it is to read that as I type this. It pierces my heart. I KNOW how hard this truth is to believe. And at the same time, I know it is true. It is also okay to feel the suffering you feel in the midst of the true hope of Jesus. Both can be true-- you can be sad or feel grief but still have hope. That is our God. He truly cares about our feelings and emotions.

He is a God of empathy and love. Instead of healing Lazurus right there and then for his friends, he wept with them. He cares. He truly wants you to feel your emotions, but also to remember that he is with you in them.

I hope this encourages you today whenever you are reading this!

You are SO loved.

Jordyn