Gaze on the Unseen
READ
The church in Corinth faced relentless persecution from Roman authorities and rejection from their neighbors. They refused to partake in imperial religious practices, causing them to be viewed with suspicion and treated as enemies of the state. Fear and grief were their constant companions.
The apostle Paul knew all too intimately what the Corinthians were experiencing. He, too, had faced persecution for his belief in Christ. He’d been beaten, imprisoned, and exiled from numerous cities.
Paul encouraged his friends to look beyond their immediate struggles and fix their gaze heavenward. He did not intend to invalidate or minimize their struggles—he knew firsthand how difficult their lives had become. His goal was not to dismiss the pain they were facing, but to help them gain a God’s-eye view on their suffering.
Let’s take a moment to read 2 Corinthians 4:16-18:
That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. For our present troubles are small and won’t last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don’t look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.
REFLECT
In the first part of our passage today, Paul reminds us of the paradox at the heart of the Christian life: as our earthly bodies move toward death, our spirits draw nearer to eternal glory. Though aging, stress, and illness continue to take their toll, our souls are renewed day by day as we journey toward our heavenly home. Though this life is passing away, a brand-new life awaits us.
Because of this knowledge, we can hold onto hope, even as we experience death, decay, and darkness.
Paul then makes a radical, offensive statement. Though he knows the depth of the pain and fear his friends are facing, he calls their trials “small.” Paul contends that our worldly struggles are “small,” not because they are insignificant, but because they are fleeting in the grand scale of eternity.
Though our suffering is infinitesimal in comparison to the everlasting joy awaiting us in heaven, God does not expect us to always see beyond our pain. He has shared in our humanity. He knows how sorrow can consume us and cloud our vision. God does not rush us to find perspective—He sits with us in the tension and the ache. He empathizes with us, mourns with us, and comforts us. He is patient with us as we grieve, cry, kick, and scream. And when we are ready, He invites us to see our difficulties in a new light.
God not only gives us an eternal perspective to help us endure suffering—He leverages every tear we cry for His good purposes. He transforms the grief we face into a glory that lasts forever.
Because God is the Source of life itself, the greatest gift we can be given is an intimate relationship with Him. In His grace, He redeems our struggles to nurture our dependence on Him. Though growing more reliant on Him often seems like petty compensation for enduring our “present sufferings,” it is the most priceless blessing God could ever bestow upon us.
So though we endure pain today, we can remain faithful, trusting we will experience infinite joy in the kingdom of heaven. We can look skyward and remember that our circumstances today are not worth comparing to the unceasing delight we will find in the life to come. When we fix our gaze on the things unseen, we can trust that the grief we endure is never wasted, but always reinvested for our good and the glory of His Name.
RESPOND
Take a moment to process what God might be leading you to do in light of what you read.
Where in your life do you most need to gain an eternal perspective?
In the face of suffering, how might keeping your eyes on the “things unseen” empower you to persevere?
REST
Take a moment to rest in God’s presence and consider one thing you can take away from your time reading, then close your devotional experience by praying:
Faithful God, thank You for the promise of eternal fellowship with You. Thank You for reminding me that my current afflictions are only temporary, and that they will soon be forgotten. Give me perspective to see my trials in the light of Your promises. God, as I endure trials in this life, help me to trust that You are leveraging my pain to make me dependent upon You. Let me rejoice in this, the greatest gift I could ever receive. In Your glorious Name, amen.
Port City writer Kate Redenbaugh wrote today’s devotional.