These troubles and sufferings of ours are, after all, quite small and won’t last very long. Yet this short time of distress will result in God’s richest blessing upon us forever and ever! So we do not look at what we can see right now, the troubles all around us, but we look forward to the joys in heaven which we have not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over, but the joys to come will last forever.
II Corinthians 4:17-18
In the midst of hard times, it is often incredibly difficult to maintain an eternal perspective. Our trials are huge to us, and it is hard to step back and try to see them in the light of eternity…especially when we are consumed with thoughts of these troubles 24 hours every day. When you are in the middle of a testing time, it doesn’t seem short… it feels like it will last forever! And yet, years later when we look back on it, we can see that sometimes, it didn’t really last that long? It just felt like years when it was just a few weeks or months. At those times, in the middle of the trial, we need to just make ourselves stop and seek the Lord. And I mean really, genuinely seek Him, not just whine and complain to Him! If I truly, sincerely seek His face, my perspective changes, and I can hear His voice and accept His comfort that, moments before, I was convinced did not exist! When I stop and actually listen for His voice, the trouble or trial immediately appears smaller and more manageable, because just seeking God brings the rest of my life into perspective. That last part of verse 18 gives us such hope! “The troubles will soon be over but the joys to come will last forever!” Focus on the joys to come, not the current trial. It won’t be long before we see Him face to face and none of this will matter!
