Light and Momentary

Word reached us on Sunday that one of our missionaries has thyroid cancer. He had stayed in Canada because his routine check-up showed a few things that needed to be followed-up. His wife and children returned earlier to France to get settled into the school year. None of us anticipated the diagnosis that was to come. There are so many decisions to be made and issues to be dealt with. My heart goes out to them, and my prayers go up to God on their behalf. I can't imagine what they might be feeling right now.

Having that situation in mind, today's verse struck me in a special way.

Paul writes in 2 Corinthians 4:17, "For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all."

Do my friends and colleagues feel that this is a "light and momentary" trouble?

When faced with the inconceivable, the unexpected, the complicated, the terrifying, Paul reminds us to "not lose heart" (vs. 16), to remember that while our bodies fail us, the most important part of our being, that eternal essence, grows stronger rather than weaker. What happens to us here is only temporary, and Paul encourages us to look beyond what will not last to that which will. "…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" (vs. 18).


We don't have the luxury of being "other worldly" when it comes to the daily circumstances that overwhelm us. They need to be dealt with as much as it is within our power to do so. But I pray that in spite of being in the midst of this physical and emotional storm, this precious couple will not only be able to see beyond the dark clouds that swirl around them, but will be blessed with the grace to "fix," fasten, maintain, and anchor themselves to the eternal.

Comments

  1. Oh, Amen! This is exactly what I learned, and am continung to learn, through Marc's health issues. Excellent.

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  2. Thank you for sharing this Lynda. It really spoke to me in ways you can't even imagine.

    ReplyDelete

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