2 Corinthians 4:18 - Focus on What Will Last Forever.
2 Corinthians 4:18 (NLV) 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.
INTRODUCTION
Giving up often causes us to miss the best
God has to offer. It is easy to lose heart and
quit. We all have faced problems in our
relationships or in our work that have caused us to want
to think about laying down the tools and
walking away. Rather than giving up when persecution
wore him down, Paul concentrated on experiencing
the inner strength from the Holy Spirit (Ephes.
3:16). Don't let fatigue, pain, or criticism force
you off the job. Renew your commitment to
serving Christ. Don't forsake your eternal reward
because of the intensity of today's pain. Your very
weakness allows the resurrection power of Christ to
strengthen you moment by moment. [Life Application
SB]
COMMENTARY PEARL
We are to "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." 2
Corinthians 4:18. The exchange we make in the denial of
selfish desires and inclinations is an exchange of
the worthless and transitory for the precious
and enduring. This is not sacrifice, but
infinite gain.
"Something better" is the watchword of
education, the law of all true living. Whatever Christ
asks us to renounce, He offers in its stead
something better. Often the youth cherish objects,
pursuits, and pleasures that may not appear to be
evil, but that fall short of the highest good.
They divert the life from its noblest aim.
Arbitrary measures or direct denunciation may not
avail in leading these youth to relinquish that
which they hold dear. Let them be directed to
something better than display, ambition, or
self-indulgence. Bring them in contact with truer beauty,
with loftier principles, and with nobler lives.
Lead them to behold the One "altogether lovely."
When once the gaze is fixed upon Him, the life
finds its center. The enthusiasm, the generous
devotion, the passionate ardor, of the youth find here
their true object. Duty becomes a delight and
sacrifice a pleasure. To honor Christ, to become like
Him, to work for Him, is the life's highest
ambition and its greatest joy. ED296,7
COMMENTARY
Face the Facts With Faith
When youre chasing a dream God has
given you, youll inevitably hit a place where
it seems things are out of your control and
theres no way out. Short of a miracle from God,
its a hopeless situation. Youre in the
dead-end phase of God growing your faith.
When you hit a dead end, you need to face
the facts with faith.
The worst thing you can do at a dead end
is pretend there isnt a problem. Having
faith doesnt mean you deny reality. Faith
isnt saying, Im not in pain when, in
fact, you are. Its not saying, I dont
hurt when you really do. Its not saying,
Im happy when youre grieving. Thats
not faith. Thats phoniness!
Faith is facing the facts without being
disheartened by them, because you know God is greater
than the problem.
There is a brand of Christianity that
basically says to deny all of your problems. Just have
a positive confession. Name it and claim it.
But that kind of thinking doesnt come from
Jesus. Its more reflective of Pollyanna, a
fictional character whose unrealistic view of life
only sees the positive while completely ignoring
anything negative. Pollyanna is not exactly a good
theologian.
When you have faith, you dont have to
deny reality. Faith is facing reality without
being discouraged by it. When you have faith, you
know that God can change a situation.
You cant build a family on a Pollyanna
fantasy - but you can build your family on faith.
You cant build a business on fantasy"but
you can build a business on faith. You cant
build a life on fantasy - but you can build your
life on faith.
How do you do that? You look beyond your
circumstances: We fix our eyes not on what is seen, but
on what is unseen, since what is seen [the
problem] is temporary, but what is unseen [Gods
power] is eternal (2 Corinthians 4:18 NIV).
If you look at the world, youre going
to be distressed; there are problems
everywhere! If you look within, youre going to be
depressed, because there are a lot of things that need
changing in your life. But if you look at Jesus
Christ, youll be at rest. What you focus on
shapes what your reality looks like.
When you start looking at your problem,
youre sunk. But if you look at Jesus - if you look
toward your Deliverer rather than the difficulty -
then youll make it. [Daily Devotional by Rick
Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
Four Reasons Not to Give Up
If your focus is shortsighted - where
youre only thinking about your current
difficulties or pain - then its only natural to want
to give up.
But if you look at things from an eternal
perspective, then youll be able to keep going, no
matter what happens.
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 wont last very long. Yet they produce
for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and
will last forever! So we dont look at the
troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on
things that cannot be seen (2 Corinthians
4:16-18 NLT).
This passage gives us four reasons to
stay strong emotionally and never give up:
We never give up, because our spirits
are being renewed every day. We wouldn't
dream of going a whole week without food, but some
people don't even open their Bibles for an entire
week. That's depriving our soul of the most
essential nourishment it needs! If you want to renew
your spirit every day, then get into God's Word.
We never give up, because our present
troubles are small and wont last very long.
Problems dont come to stay; they come to pass.
Even if we have problems that last our entire
lives, they would be miniscule compared to the
trillions of years we're going to have in heaven. We
know that problems on earth are temporary and
that God has long-range plans for us.
We never give up, because we know our
problems will produce for us a glory that vastly
outweighs them and will last forever! God is using
everything in our lives - even the hard stuff - to
build our character for eternity. Romans 8:28
says, We know that in all things God works for
the good of those who love him, who have been
called according to his purpose (NIV).
We never give up, because we fix our
gaze on things that cannot be seen. When
were focused on things that last forever, were
able to finish the race because we have long-term
thinking. Our attention is fixed on eternity.
So, what are you focused on today?
Instead of looking at your problems, start looking
at Jesus again. And dont give up! (2
Corinthians 4:18 TLB). [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
The Right Question to Ask When Youre in
Pain
When life becomes really hard, most
people will eventually ask, Why is this
happening to me?
But thats the wrong question to ask
when things get dark. Instead, try asking,
God, whats your purpose in this?
The Bible says in 1 Peter 1:6-7, You
are temporarily harassed by all kinds of trials
and temptations. This is no accident - it
happens to prove your faith, which is infinitely
more valuable than gold (Phillips).
Nothing comes into your life
accidentally. God does not cause evil. But he can bring
good from every single thing, even from evil.
Trials reveal your character, your maturity, your
security, your values, and your faith.
One of the major figures in the Bible is
the apostle Paul. He devoted his entire life to
serving God. But, in many ways, Pauls life was
worse than you can imagine. He was stoned,
shipwrecked, beaten, left for dead, imprisoned, whipped,
and robbed, and he went thirsty and hungry.
But he was never bitter. Instead of
asking, Why me? he looked for and trusted
Gods purpose. He learned to trust God in his
problems, even when he didnt understand.
What is the secret to his persistence?
This is the reason why we never collapse
These little troubles (which are really so
transitory) are winning for us a permanent, glorious and
solid reward out of all proportion to our pain
(2 Corinthians 4:16-17 Phillips).
Like Paul, you can hold on to hope
because God has a purpose and even a reward that
exceeds your pain.
When Jesus died on the cross, his
followers thought it was a senseless tragedy. They
thought God had made a mistake! But what they
couldnt see was God still on his throne, carrying
out a bigger purpose.
After Jesus resurrection, he appeared
to the disciples and said, Peace be with
you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending
you (John 20:21 NIV).
Just moments before, they could see no
reason for their pain. But here Jesus was, telling
them that God was giving them a new assignment
that was part of a grand purpose.
Gods purpose for your life is always
greater than your problems. Trust him. He loves to
turn crucifixions into resurrections. He
specializes in hopeless situations. [Daily Devotional by
Rick Warren: https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
CLOSING THOUGHT
You Know How the Story Ends
One of the most suspenseful TV shows ever
was 24. The main character, Jack Bauer, could
solve three world catastrophes in every single
episode. But I never even watched the show until it
went off the air, because I hate watching
commercials. I bought the entire series on DVD so I could
watch it commercial-free.
When my wife Kay and I were watching the
first season of 24, I started to get really tense
as Jack got into one of his predictable messes
and had only five seconds to save the whole
world. I thought, Is Jack going to make it? Is
this the end for our hero?
And then I thought, Of course not.
There are five more seasons!
Your tension goes down when you know the
end of the story. When you dont have to
wonder if things will turn out badly, it affects
your perspective and your attitude.
This is why believers in Christ grieve
differently from the rest of the world.
When believers lose family or friends who
are also believers, they grieve because they
miss the person who is gone, but they also know
they are in a far better place: in heaven, with
God, forever.
In a sense, we grieve for ourselves
because we have to find a way forward without our
loved one. But we grieve with hope because we know
the end of the story: One day, we will join them
in heaven and be with God forever.
You can have hope, even when there is
loss.
How? Youve got to get a bigger
perspective and a longer view. Youve got to refocus
your attention. Youve got to stop thinking
about just the here and now and start living as if
there is much more to your story.
This life is not all there is! If you
just look at today and whats happening right
now, youre going to be hopeless. But if you
can see whats happening to you in light of
eternity, youll realize that this life is
preparation for the next. God is getting you ready for
eternal life.
So we do not look at what we can see
right now, the troubles all around us, but we we
look forward to the joys in heaven which we have
not yet seen. The troubles will soon be over,
but the joys to come will last forever (2
Corinthians 4:18 TLB). [Daily Devotional by Rick Warren:
https://pastorrick.com/devotional/]
LINKS FOR FURTHER STUDY
2 Corinthians 4:18 - Focus on What Will Last
Forever.
https://www.abible.com/devotions/2023/20230316-0930.html
http://www.abible.com/devotions/2020/20200910-1039.html
LINKS WORTH CHECKING OUT
https://abible.com/links/
