The origin of this statement is not fully agreed upon, but many people believe it was coined from a Hebrew folktale. The story speaks of King Solomon being given a gold ring with the Hebrew letters for, "This, too, shall pass," engraved on the inside, and after the king read the inscription, he realized that his earthly possessions were but fleeting things. They would pass away. I believe this story has great value, but only in the sense of material things having none.
Have you ever been going through a painful season, and someone tried to encourage you with, "This, too, shall pass"? Said statement can sound quite relieving and uplifting. It feels good to hear, and it tells you that what you're going through will not last forever. But this popular quoted phrase is poisonous.
It is unbiblical, shallow, and lazy. Many people -even Christians- believe this phrase to be a Bible verse. 1. It's nowhere to be found in the Bible. 2. It doesn't match up with these verses:
"Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer." Romans 12:12 ESV
"We rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope," Romans 5:3-4 ESV
"And we know that for those who love God, all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose." Romans 8:28 ESV
If we take heart in the knowledge that our pain will last for a short while, we are taking comfort in the wrong thing. We sit around, sighing, waiting for our problems to disappear; crossing our fingers, wishing that the sun will shine before the dark becomes permanent. We are putting hope in Time rather than our omnipotent God. Is Time more powerful than God? Do we really think that waiting out our trials will make us happier than putting our faith in God, and asking Him to direct us? There is no greater intimacy than shared pain. If we share our struggles with the Lord, He will draw near. We can choose to be bitter or better. We can choose to twiddle our thumbs or thumb through our Bibles. We can choose to look at our misery or our mission.
If we believe that all things work together for those who love the Lord, our only problem is our mind. If we can detach ourselves from our unfaithful thoughts and erratic emotions and put our full faith in God, our situation can no longer be labeled a "problem." God sees our "problems" as strengthening tools. He has already taken care of us. He has already created the perfect plan for our lives. Be encouraged by that. :)
So, instead of telling your mourning friend, "This, too, shall pass," try,
"This, too, shall promote."
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