“Therefore 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 on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.” (II Corinthians 4:16-18 NIV)
It is that time of year. For students, the final push to the end of the semester. For non-students, the tasks of holiday shopping and organizing or participating in holiday activities added to an already full schedule. Stress levels are high all around.
While much of this stress is self-inflicted (poor time management, too many commitments, too caught up in the cultural approach to the holiday season), the stress is still real and you can see it on the faces of so many. And when we are overly stressed, the temptation is to lose heart. Woe is me and my life! We see our lives through dark lenses.
Few of us experience the kinds of trials Paul did—beatings, imprisonments, death threats, hunger, etc. So when we are feeling overwhelmed, this passage is a must read. As Paul said in Romans 8:28, God works all things together for good, and so it is with the stress in our lives. He will use it for a greater purpose: to prepare us for eternity. Through those things that stress us out, through hardships and difficult times, the Lord teaches us dependence upon Him and molds our character into one suited for Heaven.
If you are stressed out today, recognize it as a teaching moment from the Lord. He wants to use what you are experiencing to further make you into a person who is ready for Heaven, a person more and more dependent on Him with whom you will spend eternity.
© Jim Musser 2011
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