When the Glory Will Be Revealed

Eli sat alone in his car in the church parking lot, watching the sanctuary lights flicker through the tinted glass. He had come early, hoping for answers, but unsure if he even believed they would come. A folded eviction notice sat on the passenger seat.

Eli sat in silence with an eviction notice by his side, unsure if God still believed in him.

It had been three years of closed doors, lost jobs, a failed business, and a broken engagement. Every time he thought he was gaining ground, life hit back twice as hard. He had always believed in God, but now he wasn’t sure if God still believed in him.

The pastor’s voice echoed from inside the building, muffled but steady. “God is still writing your story,” Eli heard faintly. He shook his head and stared at his hands. His faith didn’t feel like a story. It felt like an obituary.

A soft knock on the car window startled him. It was Marcus, a man from the men's group. “You coming in?” he asked gently. Eli forced a weak smile, grabbed the eviction notice, and nodded.

Inside, the sanctuary felt warmer than he remembered. Not just in temperature. Something spiritual. Like hope had been waiting for him. The worship team started playing, and Eli remained seated, arms folded, staring at the floor.

The message that night came from Romans 8:18. “I consider that our present sufferings are not worth comparing with the glory that will be revealed in us.” The pastor paused, then looked straight toward Eli. “Some of you are suffering, but your story isn’t over.”

Eli’s chest tightened. He had prayed so many times for a way out, for money, for relief, for favor. But tonight, something different stirred inside. Not a request, but a release. He whispered, “God… I don’t need You to fix everything. Just don’t leave me in it.”

“I don’t need You to fix everything. Just don’t leave me in it.”

After service, Marcus handed him a worn-out Bible. “This helped me when I lost everything.” Eli accepted it without protest. That night, back in his small apartment, he opened it to Romans 8. The verse was underlined, circled, and tear-stained.

Over the next few days, Eli kept coming back to that verse. Not because it changed his circumstances. They hadn’t. But because it changed his perspective. For the first time, he believed God was present in the pain, not just the rescue.

A week later, Eli showed up to church early, this time to help set up chairs. He didn’t come for answers anymore. He came because he was no longer running. Faith had become less about what God could do for him and more about who God was.

A few months passed. Eli was still facing trials, but he carried himself differently. Peace had replaced panic. He got a part-time job through someone at church and began mentoring a younger man who was struggling with addiction.

One night, the young man asked him, “How’d you get through it all?” Eli smiled and said, “I didn’t. God walked with me through it. That’s when the glory will be revealed, not when things get easy, but when we trust Him in the storm.”

That moment felt full circle. Eli finally understood that spiritual breakthrough wasn’t a dramatic event. It was a thousand quiet decisions to believe God’s promise even when nothing changed.

Years later, Eli would still carry the scars of what he went through. But he would carry them like a trophy. Not of survival, but of surrender. Each one pointed to the same truth: God never wasted a single tear.

And in heaven’s time, Eli believed with everything in him. The glory will be revealed.

Where have you seen God move the most in your suffering?

• In my perspective
• In my relationships
• In my faith
• I'm still waiting