The Unseen

Why is it that, so often in life, we have a siege mentality - that when life gets messy and tough and uncomfortable we shrink back, start to fear and doubt and feel that we deserve better? That, somehow, we don't deserve things to turn out the way they do?

I was challenged reading II Corinthians 4 : 16 - 18 today:

...We do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. So we fix our eyes not on what is seen but what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

Our focus in life determines how we live our lives. Are we, am I, focused on eternity, or on the here and now, the immediate? Am I bound and shackled by circumstances, captivated by events, however haphazard and tumultuous they seem to be? Or do I experience life to the full, with all its changes and surprises, and, yes, grieve and weep and sorrow at times, but not as those with no hope.

God is in the business of renewal. He is making all things new and His plans and purposes are eternal and unchanging and pure and life-giving. And He wants us to take these experiences to Him and to view them in the light of eternity and His victory through the person of Jesus. That doesn't mean we will, necessarily, understand the circumstances. Often, we won't. But, He will give the strength and peace that surpasses understanding and a purpose to live for Him in this messy world, giving hope and light to others, while trusting a God who is good and sovereign...all the time.

Oh, how I want that to be true of me...