“For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.” II Corinthians 4:17
I argue with God. Don’t get me wrong…I’m not proud of that! And usually (translated EVERY TIME) I lose. But still I argue.
And I read a verse like the one above…and I find myself arguing with Him again. “But You don’t understand God…this doesn’t feel LIGHT and it sure doesn’t feel MOMENTARY! It feels like this goes on and on and it gets heavier each time.”
Have you ever been there? The bills keep piling up. The conflict at home never lets up. The kids…oh the kids…can I just get a break from them? The stress…the exhaustion…the pressure…makes you just want to shout “Calgon*, take me away!” (*=NOTE TO READERS UNDER 30-Calgon was this product that people used to use where they would put these drops in their bathtub, and all their problems would be whisked away while they soaked in a bubble bath…at least that’s what the ad said…but I digress.)
Our problem, I think, is we often see these “problems” in OUR time. But OUR time…well, we have a limited frame of measure there. I only know 56 years on this planet! That’s it. That’s my ENTIRE frame of reference! Some of you know a few more years…some not quite that many. But it’s still ALL we know! But our God knows a LOT more years than that! And in HIS time frame, my 56 years is just a fraction of a blink of an eye!
Maybe what we need to do is to focus on the LATER part of that verse: “working for us a far more exceeding weight of glory!” What these struggles are doing right now…are helping us to see His eternity. And how great is going to be to share that eternity with HIM! Paul goes on in the next verse to say, “So we don’t look at the troubles we see NOW; rather we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now (meaning the troubles we are dealing with today!) will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.” II Corinthians 4:18
The struggles are making us stronger. It’s true. It may FEEL like a hurt right now…but it’s getting us to see a better version of us! Some of our young people- Cody Webster, Caden Smith and others-run Cross Country & Track. They KNOW what it means to do long runs…it gets them better prepared for the next running meet. Maybe they see what Paul was talking about. Maybe you and I need to learn that lesson too. Fix our gaze…on the things that last. On the eternal glory…and get our eyes and minds OFF of the momentary pain. He promises us, that the end is way better than the now!
Shalom Alacheim,
Don
