April 4, 2023 - Do Not Lose Heart

     I was up earlier than I intended to be and I turned to the Word, beginning the day giving God the first-fruits.   Here is part of what I read from 2 Corinthians 4:
     16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 18 So we fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on what is unseen, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
     Twice in this chapter Paul writes “we do not lose heart.”  He writes these words during one of the most difficult times in his life.  Earlier in the letter he says that he despaired of life itself.  In this same chapter he writes
     “We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.”
     When life’s difficulties come there is the temptation to lose heart for all of us.  Cancer or any serious illness can tempt us to lose heart.  Lots of problems can.  Even the difficulties of the daily grind can.
     Paul is no spring chicken by now.  He knows the truth that all of us face if we live long enough: outwardly we are wasting away.  Our bodies begin to deteriorate far younger than we’d like.  A 30-year-old running back in the NFL is usually beyond his prime.
     Yet, inwardly we are being renewed day by day. What a great truth that believers can experience—at any age.  By the power of the Spirit every day we are being renewed. 
     Paul is despairing of life, feeling hard pressed, persecuted, and struck down.   And he calls them “light and momentary troubles.”
     I hope I have that depth of faith.  Whatever I may be going through, the struggles are achieving an eternal glory that far outweighs the struggles of this life. 
      So I fix my eyes on the unseen and the eternal, not on the struggles.  It’s the only way to not lose heart.  God is using whatever happens in our lives to prepare us for the next life, “achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all.”
     I must admit, there are some days that I wish the preparation wouldn’t be quite as intense.  But I have found that it is in those difficult days that God does His best work.