Why We Never Give Up

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! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

WHEN WE READ THIS PASSAGE, in which Paul describes his present troubles as “small,” we’re tempted to think that his life must have been much easier than our own, that he was downplaying the reality of his difficulties, or that he was just delusional. And when he says that these present troubles “won’t last very long,” we’re tempted to think, once again, either that he had never faced chronic pain, repeated problems, or lifelong struggles, or that he was just putting a happy face on the realities of life to make Christianity look good.

But that was not it at all. Paul had found the secret of not giving up. He was experiencing an inner sense of renewal in the midst of his difficulties. How? We read later in this same letter to the Corinthians that fourteen years prior, Paul had been given a guided tour of heaven. Clearly seeing the glory of God had shaped Paul’s perspective about life in this world. Because Paul saw the weight of the glory to come, he could describe the troubles of this life as “light.” And because Paul briefly stepped out of time and into eternity, he was able to describe the afflictions of this life as “momentary” (verse 17, NIV).

Parenting is difficult. It’s a lot harder and a much longer assignment than most of us knew when we signed on for it. Sometimes it gets so hard that we’re tempted to give up —give up on pursuing meaningful relationships with our kids, give up on teaching them, give up on disciplining them, give up on expecting God to work in them. But Paul wants us to see the bigger picture. And the way we gain that perspective is to stop focusing on our troubles and fix our eyes on the glory that makes the heaviest burdens seem light and the eternal future that makes even lifelong struggles seem momentary.

Lord, I really need your help to keep from focusing on current troubles. They loom so large and appear so relentless. Sometimes I want to give up. Please help me to fix my gaze on the realities that I can’t see with my physical eyes. Renew me day by day.