Someone knows your pain.
I can't offer that truth enough to a hurting soul. We are not alone in our struggles, nor in our triumphs; our Heavenly Father rejoices when we rejoice, and the Lamb of God has gone through hell and has risen from its depths to lead us by example. Christ not only lived a life that taught us how to live ours, He not only died a death so that we might overcome the shackles of our sinfully doomed mortality, our sweet Savior also demonstrated how we are to rise above adversity even if it kills us.
As inspired by the Holy Spirit, Paul wrote to encourage those facing hardship due to their love for Christ. While we might not be faced with the same threats and obvious hate endured by the earliest followers of Christ, we are undoubtedly hated and burdened all the same and can benefit from taking these words to heart.
So we do not lose heart. Even though our outer nature is wasting away, our inner nature is being renewed day by day. For this slight momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, because we look not at what can be seen but at what cannot be seen; for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal. ~2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we do not lose heart. What better reason to refill our cup to overflowing with God's goodness and mercy?
Even though our outer nature (nothing more than a mere vessel)
is wasting away,
our inner nature (the precious cargo of that vessel)
is being renewed day by day. Our very spirits are being made anew each time we step into the light of God, the path of Christ, and the unfading glory of the Sovereign Lord! That's something to praise aloud, ladies!
For this slight (lacking in strength or substance)
momentary affliction is preparing us for an eternal weight of glory beyond all measure, --carrying the load of life's troubles is building our spiritual muscles in order that we can one day support the massive glory of living in the presence of our King--
because we look not at what can be seen (our ever-present burden)
but at what cannot be seen (the hand of the Almighty reaching to help with that burden);
for what can be seen is temporary, but what cannot be seen is eternal.Please pray with me today.
Oh Father, how we twist and contort our joyful hearts until they can no longer contain joy. We stretch and bend to lift the load that life heaps onto us all, eventually leaving us broken and helpless. Only in your light can we see that we are never more useful than when we give up the useless task of taking on the world. Lord, take this burden. Replace the angst with truth that will set free the weary soul. Father, you know each and every need and you will certainly provide. Help us to know our needs and what you would have us do to meet them. Help us to see the eternal and leave at your feet the fleeting woes that have our attention at the moment. In the name of Jesus Christ, the living example of victory over hardship, we pray these things. Amen.
