Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
Traffic jams... supermarket queues... work/study deadlines... misunderstandings... work stress... rush hour commute... heavy cold... sleepless night... money stress... loneliness... painful relationship... chronic pain... illness... depression...
Do any of these ring true of our "light and momentary troubles"? Some are of course (in my opinion) more serious, painful and significant than others.
Sometimes my troubles scream for my undivided attention - I want to find quick-fix solutions and escape-hatches. I wrap myself up in the here-and-now, search my own resources to try make things better, consequently achieving for myself a spiral of frustration and despair. Having distanced myself from God, my troubles seem far from "light and momentary", let alone "achieving... an eternal glory".
Later in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes some of his "light and momentary troubles": frequent imprisonment... severe floggings... exposed to death... lashings... beaten with rods... stoned... shipwrecked... dangers from bandits/rivers/Gentiles/cities/country/sea/false brothers... sleeplessness... hunger... thirst... cold... nakedness... pressures of concern for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:24-28)
Paul teaches me a lesson of perspective. Yes, my troubles are minor in comparison to his, but this isn't his point. He doesn't suggest that troubles are painless or insignificant. Rather Paul understood that his hardships are "light" compared to the glory that he will experience, and "momentary" compared with eternity. Paul endured much more than I can imagine because he fixed his eyes on what is unseen. He understood that what is eternal and unseen is more important than anything experienced in life.
In the midst of troubles, I need not lose heart because I have hope of an eternal glory. Moreover I can actually rejoice in suffering because, "... we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4). Though my physical body will fail, inwardly I am being renewed by the Holy Spirit.
But when it comes to it, how do I change my worry, sorrow, exhaustion or despair into hope and rejoicing? Paul tells me to change my perspective; to stop my fixation with the temporary and instead focus on the eternal.
Do any of these ring true of our "light and momentary troubles"? Some are of course (in my opinion) more serious, painful and significant than others.
Sometimes my troubles scream for my undivided attention - I want to find quick-fix solutions and escape-hatches. I wrap myself up in the here-and-now, search my own resources to try make things better, consequently achieving for myself a spiral of frustration and despair. Having distanced myself from God, my troubles seem far from "light and momentary", let alone "achieving... an eternal glory".
Later in his letter to the Corinthians, Paul describes some of his "light and momentary troubles": frequent imprisonment... severe floggings... exposed to death... lashings... beaten with rods... stoned... shipwrecked... dangers from bandits/rivers/Gentiles/cities/country/sea/false brothers... sleeplessness... hunger... thirst... cold... nakedness... pressures of concern for all the churches. (2 Corinthians 11:24-28)
Paul teaches me a lesson of perspective. Yes, my troubles are minor in comparison to his, but this isn't his point. He doesn't suggest that troubles are painless or insignificant. Rather Paul understood that his hardships are "light" compared to the glory that he will experience, and "momentary" compared with eternity. Paul endured much more than I can imagine because he fixed his eyes on what is unseen. He understood that what is eternal and unseen is more important than anything experienced in life.
In the midst of troubles, I need not lose heart because I have hope of an eternal glory. Moreover I can actually rejoice in suffering because, "... we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope." (Romans 5:3-4). Though my physical body will fail, inwardly I am being renewed by the Holy Spirit.
But when it comes to it, how do I change my worry, sorrow, exhaustion or despair into hope and rejoicing? Paul tells me to change my perspective; to stop my fixation with the temporary and instead focus on the eternal.
Now we know that if the earthly tent we live in is destroyed, we have a building from God, an eternal house in heaven, not built by human hands... Now it is God who has made us for this very purpose and has given us the Spirit as a deposit, guaranteeing what is to come. 2 Corinthians 5:1, 5.
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