Editor’s Note: This devotion was written by Dianna Hobbs and used by permission from her ‘Your Daily Cup of Inspiration’ blog. To read more encouragement like this, visit YourDailyCupOfInspiration.com.

I love learning new stuff, especially since my 2019 brain injury caused me to forget loads of things I once knew.

I am so thankful to God that my children have been a huge part of this learning process. They teach me things all the time—even how to pronounce words I still struggle to say like explanation, pine cone, library, February, and other words, too. Getting that brain-tongue connection going is a doozy sometimes, but I keep on trying.

Last week, my daughter, Kyla, who is in her final semester of undergraduate school, taught me something about the work of a poet she is studying in one of her English classes. His name is William Wordsworth. His poem, The Prelude, is what Kyla and her classmates are currently reading. It happens to be one of Wordsworth’s most famous works.

I, too, studied Wordsworth as an English undergraduate, but I don’t remember anything about him.

So, during our discussion, Kyla told me that Wordsworth was honest and transparent in The Prelude about how he grappled with feelings of insignificance, even doubting that he was maximizing the writing abilities God gave him. Wordsworth, who died in 1850, more than 170 years ago, doubted that his words had worth.

How ironic, because today he is studied in institutions worldwide and is viewed as one of the greatest poets that ever lived.

“He’s just like the rest of us,” I told Kyla, as I considered how common it is for humans to struggle with self-doubt and uncertainty.

No matter who we are, where we live, what we do, or what we possess, since we don’t have a full picture of what the future holds, at times we get discouraged by the way our present situation looks. We go through periods of questioning: What is all this even for? Does what I’m doing matter in the grand scheme of things? Is my work in vain? Will things ever get better for me? What’s going to happen in the future?

“God is doing something for you, in you, and through you right now. You might not see it, but He’s up to something. Keep trusting, friend!”

— Dianna Hobbs

The search for value and deeper meaning intensifies even more when suffering is introduced. When we are struggling and in pain, woo buddy! The battle can feel pointless and the purpose of it all can be hard to identify.

I have suffered many things, endured plenty hardship, and sacrificed much for the sake of the gospel. While I know this carries eternal weight, in my humanness, it does not always feel that way. That’s why I love what the word of God says in Romans 8:18: “Yet what we suffer now is nothing compared to the glory he will reveal to us later.”

Despite not understanding what’s happening presently or seeing the benefit of any of it, we can stand on the assurance of God’s word that something greater is coming down the road.

2 Corinthians 4:17 says it this way: “For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever!”

What an encouraging word, right?

Everybody needs to be reminded sometimes that something greater is coming down the road. Something better. Something that will make it all worthwhile. Something that will make us look back over our lives and declare that God caused all things to work together for our good (Romans 8:38)!

Ultimately, we know that when it’s all over, we will inherit an incorruptible crown, symbolic of an everlasting reward, which is eternal life (1 Corinthians 9:25). Even so, we don’t have to wait until the hereafter to receive great rewards. Scripture promises us that when we make sacrifices for the gospel and remain faithful to the Lord, even when we lose things, Jesus said, in this life, He will give us “a hundred times as much.”

Have I got a witness that knows that God is a restorer? Oh, yes, He is!

He is the God of greater. The God of increase. The God of the double portion and the hundred-fold return. After you have endured and refused to give up, our Heavenly Father, the giver of every good and perfect gift, starts passing out blessings.

And I’m here to tell you that He won’t pass you by. What is meant for you won’t miss you. Though you may not be able to see it yet, your future is so much brighter than your today. What’s coming down the road is greater.

Be encouraged. A blessing is making its way to your address, my friend.

To encourage you, I’m stirring a scriptural prayer found in Numbers 6:24-26 NIV into your cup of inspiration. It says: "The Lord bless you and keep you; the Lord make his face shine on you and be gracious to you; the Lord turn his face toward you and give you peace."

As you drink down the contents of your cup, if you are going through a rough patch today, God wants you to know that the blessings of the Lord are upon you. His grace and favor are surrounding you, and you can trust that things are about to get a whole lot better for you!

Wait for it. And praise Him in advance for it. What is already written in eternity shall manifest in your reality.

Now, let’s pray.

God, thank You for sending this encouraging word to let me know that restoration, favor, and blessings are on the way for me. In times when I get discouraged, help me to place my hope in Your word and Your faithfulness to bring every promise to pass. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Dianna Hobbs is founder of EEW Magazine Online and CEO of Empowering Everyday Women Ministries — a 501c3 nonprofit organization that shares the gospel and provides humanitarian aid to the hurting. She is also the writer of Your Daily Cup of Inspiration and executive producer of the companion podcast. Follow Dianna on social media: Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, YouTube. Sign up for her free ministry newsletter here.