2 Corinthians 4:18


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 ~ 2 Corinthians 4:18

It is difficult, I know, to not look at our circumstances when they cause suffering in our life. Our eyes naturally want to focus on the “here and now” of life. It is hard too, not to make them our ultimate focus and aim; they are what we know and objects our natural eye can reach. But earthly things are temporary! They are to have a short time of duration, and they must come to an end. We are but on a journey through this life, for those who believe and have received Jesus Christ as Lord, we have another home. This home is a home without grief, sadness, death; it is a home full of joy and praise. We will not suffer both here and in the world to come! Therefore, we must set our eyes on the unseen, on the eternal. Is what we are going through in our “here and now” working out a spiritual dimension to our lives? Are we being cleansed from our past, being transformed more into the likeness of Jesus? Then we can say, these afflictions are but for a moment of time and they are preparing us for our glory, if in their occurrences grace draws us closer to our God. What our eyes see, no matter how much value is in them, are worthless when it comes to possessing God. When we look directly at our trials, even light ones, and fix our mind completely upon them, they will appear heavy and long. But if we can turn our mind toward future glory, to fix the eye on the eternal happiness beyond this temporary life, we can put into perspective what we are going through now. Allow your trial to cleanse you and prepare you for what is to come! Look up, not around!
Devotion by Pastor Julia

Comments

Post a Comment

Thank you for your comments

Popular posts from this blog

Proverbs 18:2

Image
Fools find no pleasure in understanding but delight in sharing their own opinions ~ Proverbs 18:2 If we are going to understand something, we must fully digest it so that when we speak, we speak with wisdom. When we have only half truths in our mind, our words become empty and senseless. We then puff out air rather than understanding when we speak. A wise person will want to improve their mind through learning in various ways from the world around them. A person who delights in spiritual understanding will find peace and enjoyment in reading the Word of God on a daily basis, and in participating with God’s people in a learning and praising environment – the church! We come together in corporate worship with the understanding that not one of us knows all things, but we bend our mind and heart to learn what God has to show and say to us. A foolish person makes a show of what they “know” to please their friends or to save face in front of them. More often a wise person will hold t
Read more

Romans 8:26

Image
In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans ~ Romans 8:26 Many days, many times, I have the words for prayer. It comes forth and flows fairly naturally as I converse with my Lord God. I hope in the God I worship to hear me, and to receive my words, as I pray in the name of Jesus and believe in Him, my intercessor. He is my Living Saviour, my High Priest, standing at the right hand of God the Father. But there are times when my pain has been so deep that my words will not come. There are times when my agony is so piercing that what words I may speak would not be enough. And so, in my deep, black moments, I come before my God and let my darkest emotions erupt in sounds that only He can understand. The Holy Spirit within me cries out in my stead, and He becomes my second intercessor. It is not that He is not there with me in all my prayers, but there are times wh
Read more

Isaiah 43:19

Image
Behold, I am doing a new thing; now it springs forth, do you not perceive it? I will make a way in the wilderness and rivers in the desert ~ Isaiah 43:19 When we meet a challenge, we are often found discouraged, lost, even hopeless. Nothing is working, everything seems to be against us. We do not know how to move forward, so we remain curled up in a ball. Then, a glimmer of light shines through! Hope is regained and movement is stirred within. Don’t we become excited when we begin to feel it? God moves like that. We cannot see our way around it, but He can and does. And He makes a way for us out of the calamity of our fears. It is the feeling of springtime after a long winter, or the smell of fresh cut grass. Life stirs within and we move and we see what God saw all the time – the answer to our dilemma. Our desert place becomes an oasis, and we can do what we are called to do. Something totally unexpected happens, something unheard of, but it begins in our life, and we feel the
Read more