Taking The Long View

That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 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!

2 Corinthians 4:16-17

THE APOSTLE PAUL SAID his trials were momentary, light, small troubles. Do these sound like small troubles to you?

Five different times the Jewish leaders gave me thirty-nine lashes. Three times I was beaten with rods. Once I was stoned. Three times I was shipwrecked. Once I spent a whole night and a day adrift at sea. I have traveled on many long journeys. I have faced danger from rivers and from robbers. I have faced danger from my own people, the Jews, as well as from the Gentiles. I have faced danger in the cities, in the deserts, and on the seas. And I have faced danger from men who claim to be believers but are not. I have worked hard and long, enduring many sleepless nights. I have been hungry and thirsty and have often gone without food. I have shivered in the cold, without enough clothing to keep me warm.

2 Corinthians 11:24-27

And Paul wasn’t finished.

We may not have to face the severe trials that Paul did, but just the same, we can begin to lose hope as the accumulation of a thousand small trials takes its toll and as life becomes wearisome.

By God’s grace, Paul was able to view his trials as temporary—which they were—and as not that big of a deal compared to eternity. This perspective certainly didn’t come to Paul easily or automatically. Like us, Paul needed to learn to value the things of God so highly, to give them such weight, that everything else would pale by comparison. How about you? Who or what do you care about most?

BOTTOM LINE

Thank God that this life isn’t all there is! When we live for the next life, we discover that things here aren’t so bad. Live today with eternity in mind.

Moment of Strength: 2 Corinthians 4:7-18