Look Forward - March 11

Read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18

So we do not lose heart. Though our outer self is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day by day. For this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison, as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.

Reflect

Does looking forward to a reward help you endure a trial? What do you focus on to help you persevere through suffering?

It always helps to have something to look forward to, doesn’t it? When the work week feels like it’s never going to end, weekend plans are like a bright light at the end of the tunnel. Knowing that winter won’t last forever and that spring is coming soon helps me get through the cold, dark winter.

But some days, the terrible Ts (trouble, temptations, trials, tribulations, trauma) just seem to pile on. The suffering feels so heavy and the struggle seems like it is never going to end. How are we supposed to endure?

The apostle Paul was no stranger to troubles piling on. In 2 Corinthians 6:4, he listed just some of those problems: “...afflictions, hardships, calamities, beatings, imprisonments, riots, labors, sleepless nights, hunger…”. He freely preached the Word of God and suffered greatly for it. What kept him going? Why didn’t he just give up?

In today’s verses, he told the Corinthian believers that he persevered because he had something so good to look forward to that it far outweighed the suffering he had to endure. He didn’t dwell on his present sufferings but instead looked forward to future glory. He lived in joyful expectation of eternity with Christ.

Paul was convinced that heaven is going to be so glorious that everything he went through here on earth would seem like just a drop in the bucket by comparison. Plus, he knew that his sufferings were temporary. They had an endpoint. There was light at the end of the tunnel and when he burst into that glorious light, he knew that glory would never cease.

That’s why Paul was able to call things like being chased by an angry mob, beaten to within an inch of his life, being left for dead, and being thrown into prison multiple times for no legitimate legal reason, “light momentary affliction.” The only way that kind of affliction can be considered “light” is if it is compared to a weightier goodness. It’s as if Paul is saying “look, if you put my suffering on one side of the scale and the eternal weight of glory that I’m looking forward to on the other side, the scale would tip so far on the side of eternal glory that it would break. There’s simply no comparison!”

The key to persevering through trials is to look forward to eternity with Jesus! If we only focus on what we can see in this world, we will lose heart. We have to remember that this world is temporary. That’s good news because it means that the terrible Ts are temporary, too! I know it’s hard to fathom now, but some day, our greatest suffering here on earth will seem like “light momentary afflictions” compared to the glory that awaits us for all eternity.

Respond

Lord, some days the suffering here just seems too big and too heavy. When I am in the midst of trials, help me to look forward to eternity with You. Please give me an eternal perspective and a Kingdom mindset to strengthen my faith and help me endure. Amen.

Reveal

Offer today’s verse as encouragement to Christian friends or family who are in the midst of a trial and let them know that you are praying for them.