“For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day. 17. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment works for us a far more exceeding eternal weight of glory. 18. For we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.”
According to verse 1 of 2 Corinthians 4, Paul wrote that he did not “faint” because in his ministry he had received the mercy of God. In other words, Paul did not lose heart because he knew that he was in the will of God. Let the world howl, he was about God’s business. He gives us reason here about why we should not lose heart when we are faced with problems. In verse 16, Paul points out that no matter what is going on around us, no matter how low we might think things have gotten, the Lord is renewing us on the inside day by day. This is a fact that we need to get down in our hearts and minds: The Lord has given us the Holy Spirit to work within us, to renew our faith and our confidence. It doesn’t matter what the problem, we have the Spirit of God at work in us, leading from, or through, whatever it is that tries to hinder us. Hey, brother or sister, take heart, you have the power of God at work in you. In verse 17, he points out two important things for us to remember: (1) All of our worldly problems are but for a moment. That is what he means by “our light affliction.” We should not let temporary problems make us lose heart. I have discovered, or am still discovering, that whatever problem I am encountering at the time will come to an end. Nothing in this world lasts forever, and that includes what might be robbing you of spiritual energy today. (2) God is at work in us as He takes us through the problem to an “exceeding, eternal” weight of glory. This means that what God brings into our lives is His glory, and His strength, which outweighs all of our problems. We just need to remember that we are not in this thing by ourselves. We think that the world has turned against us, and we might be right, but the world is not greater than the God who is working within us to give us His glory. You are a part of the church of the Lord Jesus Christ, and “the gates of hell shall not prevail against it.” We have the promise of Jesus about this, so let’s take hold of it and live for Him whatever the world might say. In verse 18, Paul reminds us that the most important things that we have in our lives are not seen, because the things which are seen are temporary, and the things which are not seen are eternal. We do not measure success in our lives by the things that we have amassed. Everything that we have today will be nonexistent, or recycled, in a few years. As Christians, we need to understand that every measure of success in this world will count for nothing in eternity. God is going to give us a New Heaven and New Earth, in which we will dwell with Him forever and forever. But God has us on this “old earth,” which is passing away, to serve him as His witnesses to a lost world. We do this at home, at work, at play, or wherever we are. By God’s grace, we are enabled, and empowered, to serve Him as we live our lives on this temporary planet, He will give us “an eternal weight of glory.” Come on, brothers and sisters, do not lose heart. God is alive and is working through us. Bro. Joe
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AuthorDr. Joe Beauchamp is the author of this blog and website. Categories
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