Day 7 – 2 Corinthians 4:8-18

We are afflicted in every way, but not crushed; perplexed, but not despairing; persecuted, but not forsaken; struck down, but not destroyed; always carrying about in the body the dying of Jesus, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our body. For we who live are constantly being delivered over to death for Jesus’ sake, so that the life of Jesus also may be manifested in our mortal flesh. So death works in us, but life in you. But having the same spirit of faith, according to what is written, “I believed, therefore I spoke,” we also believe, therefore we also speak, knowing that He who raised the Lord Jesus will raise us also with Jesus and will present us with you. For all things are for your sakes, so that the grace which is spreading to more and more people may cause the giving of thanks to abound to the glory of God. Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.^[1]

“Momentary, light affliction!” Most would not describe their trials in this manner. In fact, the opposite seems mostly true. Rather than light they seem extremely harsh and rather than momentary they appear endless. Yet the Apostle Paul describes them in this manner, and he could because his resume was full all kinds of trials, trials that should have brought him down except for his attitude. This was the guy who was stoned and left for dead, got up, and instead of fleeing went back into the city that had just stoned him. This is the guy that was beaten within an inch of his life, shipwrecked, falsely accused and imprisoned. He could do it, and did do it because he understood what he did had cosmic consequences, and that the Jesus in him not only qualified him to endure, but gave him incentive to endure.

Consider, if you will, the tremendous sacrifice our Lord made on our behalf. It was a sacrifice no one else would have done, and He did it in order that we might be redeemed. How can we ever view the things we experience in the same manner? They cannot begin to compare with that which He endured for our sakes. That is how Paul can call them light and momentary because when one puts them in context there is no comparison. The good news, however, is that these same momentary, light afflictions have a purpose. They are “producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison.”

 Dear Lord, we confess to giving our afflictions more of our attention than they deserve. We are often fatalistic behaving as though the end of our world has come. Help us to change our mindset and begin to see them as they are, temporary. Still, You know how painful these momentary afflictions really are. You know full well the depths of betrayal we feel when wronged. You know the panic we experience when confronted with situations that seem hopeless. Give us the strength of Paul so we can, like him, understand what we see is temporal, but what we cannot see eternal. This we ask in the strong name of Jesus. Amen.

^[1] New American Standard Bible: 1995 Update (LaHabra, CA: The Lockman Foundation, 1995), 2 Co 4:8–18.