Ephesians 3:13
Therefore I ask that you do not lose heart at my tribulations for you, which is your glory.
When we are walking through a difficult season, it can be easy to wonder if God has somehow lost control. We pray, we wait, and sometimes the situation seems to get harder. Ephesians 3:13 speaks directly into those moments.
Paul wrote these words while he was in prison. Yet he wasn’t asking the believers in Ephesus to feel sorry for him. Instead, he encouraged them not to lose heart because of what he was going through.
That is remarkable. Paul could see something beyond his circumstances. His chains did not mean that God had abandoned him. His suffering did not mean that the Gospel had failed. Even in prison, God was still working through his life and his message.
Paul even called his tribulations “your glory.” His suffering was helping others encounter the truth of Christ. What looked like a setback from the outside was becoming part of something much bigger than Paul could see in that moment.
We can overlook these moments when we are hurting. When we see someone we love going through a difficult season, or when we ourselves are facing something we never expected, discouragement can creep in. We may begin to wonder, “Where is God in all of this?” But hardship is not proof that God has stepped away.
Paul’s words remind us not to measure God’s faithfulness by what we can see today. Our present situation is only one small part of a much bigger story.
So whatever we may be walking through today, let’s hold on. Let’s pray when we have no answers. Let’s trust Him when we cannot see the way forward. And above all, let’s not lose heart. God is still present, and He is still working. The story isn’t over.
