2 Corinthians 4:17 - Look Beyond The Gloom To The Glory!
2 Corinthians 4:17 (Phillips) These little
troubles (which really are so transitory) are winning
for us a permanent, glorious and solid reward
out of all proportion to our pain.
COMMENTARY PEARL
My husband and I were staying at a
friend's cabin on the banks of Lake Superior. We
strolled the beach, admiring the beautiful smooth
stones covering the shore. Waves rolled in, rubbing
rocks against each other. Over the years the water
had shaped granite and quartz into stunning
rounded sculptures. Glimmers of crystal sparkled in
the sunlight.
We collected a few samples to bring home.
The agates and the fragments of precious
minerals shine because their surrounding rock was
first broken open by storms and pounding waves,
and their surface was then polished by the
constant action of abrasion.
I used to growl at this verse in 2
Corinthians. In my opinion, my troubles weren't light or
momentary at all. We live in a world where the
free-will choices of other sinful humans can cause
injustice and suffering, where disease can attack out
of the blue, where disagreements can separate
us from those we love.
Jesus has great compassion for our pain.
He is able to bring His transformative grace
into our most hurtful experiences. This verse
doesn't mean we should buck up and pretend the pain
isn't so bad. It simply reminds us that one day
we'll look back and discover the long-term gifts
that He produced in the midst of the abrasive
sand, the crashing waves, and the day-after-day
pressures. On that day, when we glimpse the eternal
glory, well agree that glory outweighs any pain.
by Sharon Hinck
Faith Step: Set a few smooth stones on
your kitchen table as a centerpiece and use them
as a reminder that the abrasive struggles in
your life will be used by our Savior for glorious
purposes. [Mornings With Jesus 2018 Devotional by
Guideposts and Zondervan]
COMMENTARY
Its only minor surgery when it's
happening to someone else!" I don't know where I heard
that, but it sure rings true with me. Our
struggles may look small and insignificant to someone
else, but when we're going through them, they
always feel big and sometimes even overwhelming.
My sponsor used to say, "This too shall
pass." I always disliked that statement because it
made me feel like my struggle wasn't worth
feeling bad about. I felt I had the right to
complain when things weren't going well. Of course
that was not all my wise sponsor and friend would
say. He'd follow those words with "What are we
going to do to work through this problem
together?" That was his way of telling me that I had
the right tools to find a solution that he would
be right there with me, and finally - he was
right - that my problem really wouldn't be around
forever; it would pass. We all face struggles, and
many of them are tough. But God has not left us
to face them alone or unprepared. He's given us
what we need to solve each problem and move on
with our lives.
Lord God, when I'm facing a difficult
situation, remind me to call on those people and
principles you've placed in my life to help me come
through victoriously. In Jesus' name, Amen.
[Celebrate Recovery Daily Devotional by John & Johnny
Baker]
Our minds take the level of the things on
which our thoughts dwell, and if we think upon
earthly things, we shall fail to take the impress of
that which is heavenly. We would be greatly
benefited by contemplating the mercy, goodness, and
love of God; but we sustain great loss by
dwelling upon those things which are earthly and
temporal. We allow sorrow and care and perplexity to
attract our minds to earth, and we magnify a
molehill into a mountain.
Temporal things are not to engage our
whole attention, or engross our minds until our
thoughts are entirely of the earth and the earthly.
We are to train, discipline, and educate the
mind so that we may think in a heavenly channel,
that we may dwell on things unseen and eternal,
which will be discerned by spiritual vision. It is
by seeing Him who is invisible that we may
obtain strength of mind and vigor of spirit (ST
Jan. 9, 1893). 6BC1099-1100
These trials of life are God's workmen to
remove the impurities, infirmities, and roughness
from our characters, and fit us for the society
of pure, heavenly angels in glory. But as we
pass through these trials, as the fires of
affliction kindle upon us, we must not keep the eye on
the fire which is seen, but let the eye of faith
fasten upon the things unseen, the eternal
inheritance, the immortal life, the eternal weight of
glory; and while we do this the fire will not
consume us, but only remove the dross, and we shall
come forth seven times purified, bearing the
impress of the Divine. 1T705-7
CLOSING THOUGHT
In all ages Satan has persecuted the people
of God. He has tortured them and put them to
death, but in dying they became conquerors. They
revealed in their steadfast faith a mightier One than
Satan. Satan could torture and kill the body, but
he could not touch the life that was hid with
Christ in God. He could incarcerate in prison
walls, but he could not bind the spirit. They could
look beyond the gloom to the glory, MB29,30
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY ON THIS PASSAGE
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2004/20040902-1205.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2010/20100831-1039.html
YOUR COMMENTS
If anyone has a paraphrase, commentary or
testimony on this passage of Scripture, either
personal or otherwise, I would be interested in
hearing from you. Thanks in advance and let's keep
uplifting Jesus that all might be drawn to Him. Fred
Gibbs
