My physical decline and contemporaneous spiritual growth has caused me to have a deeper understanding and sympathe6c response to Paul’s well-known conclusion to chapter 4 in 2 Corinthians:
16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. 17 For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 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 4:16-18
We all intellectually agree with what he is saying here as a spiritual truth that has universal application, but I am among the many people that literally lived verse 16 and believe and practice verses 17 and 18 as my personal daily conviction. This is a profound truth to me, not just a philosophical maxim—a truth that orders my thoughts every day and keeps me centered on the eternal instead of focused on light and momentary troubles. The volume, frequency and intensity of my troubles do not alter where I “fix my eyes.”
I also better understand how verse 17 provides greater insight into Paul’s discussion of perseverance in Romans 5, cited in Devotional 16. When Paul talks about “light and momentary troubles,” he is referring to his ongoing severe trials that would have crushed someone who wasn’t getting Divine help to get through each day (see 2 Corinthians 11:16-33 for a short list of what Paul had been through). They were the furthest thing from light or momentary by worldly standards. However, these troubles performed an important service for Paul that he wanted us to understand.
