“Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day.”
–The Apostle Paul in II Corinthians 4:16
Paul can’t see the way he used to (and there were no glasses). He can’t hear the way he used to (and there were no hearing aids). He doesn’t recover from beatings the way he used to (and there were no antibiotics). His strength, walking from town to town, doesn’t hold up the way it used to. He sees the wrinkles in his face and neck. His memory is not as good. “Outwardly,” he was “wasting away,” as he wrote in II Corinthians 4:16. And he admits that this is a threat to his faith and joy and courage.
But he doesn’t lose heart. Why?
He doesn’t lose heart because his inner man is being renewed. How?
The renewing of his heart comes from something very strange: it comes from looking at what he can’t see (II Corinthians 4:18):
We look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.
This is Paul’s way of not losing heart: looking at what you can’t see. What did he see?
A few verses later in II Corinthians 5:7, he says, “We walk by faith, not by sight.” This doesn’t mean that he leaps into the dark without evidence of what’s there. It means that for now the most precious and important realities in the world are beyond our physical senses.
We “look” at these unseen things through the gospel. We strengthen our hearts — we renew our courage — by fixing our gaze on the invisible, objective truth that we see in the testimony of those who saw Christ face to face. –John Piper
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Our vision can be the biggest hindrance to our faith. The saying goes, “perception is reality”. That is true when it comes to temporary things, but everything that can be seen has an expiration date, including suffering. The reality is that we should cling more closely to the things that we can’t actually see because those things are for our eternity. They both prepare us for eternity and they last unto eternity. Affliction can distract us from its benefits if we focus only on what we can see with our eyes. Paul says that the unseen fruit of affliction is much greater than the side effects we may feel. The side effects are temporary while the benefits are forever. God uses the unseen things for his glorification and our sanctification. God uses temporary trials to mold us into images that resemble his firstborn son. We suffer as Christ suffered so that we can be raised as Christ was raised. Resistance training makes bigger, stronger athletes. Affliction training makes stronger Christians. We can’t always see what good the affliction may bring. But we are assured that the glory it brings will always outweigh the discomfort we may see or feel. So let us run this race with endurance even when things look bad, let us trust that the worse they look on the outside, the greater they are becoming on the inside. Faith helps us to believe that God is working all things out for our good even when we can’t see his hand. –Keith Shoulders II
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James 4:14b — What is your life? You are a mist that appears for a little while and then vanishes.
II Corinthians 4:16-18 — Therefore we do not lose heart. Though outwardly we are wasting away, yet inwardly we are being renewed day by day. For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 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.
Hebrews 12:1b-3 — Let us run with perseverance the race marked out for us, fixing our eyes on Jesus, the pioneer and perfecter of faith. For the joy set before him he endured the cross, scorning its shame, and sat down at the right hand of the throne of God. Consider him who endured such opposition from sinners, so that you will not grow weary and lose heart.
Colossians 3:1-4 — Since, then, you have been raised with Christ, set your hearts on things above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. Set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. For you died, and your life is now hidden with Christ in God. When Christ, who is your life, appears, then you also will appear with him in glory.
II Corinthians 5:7 — We walk by faith, not by sight.
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Lord help me this day to embrace temporary affliction as preparation for your final reward. Help me to trust your invisible hand and to place more value in the things that I can’t see than the things that I can see. Give me the faith to see that even when things look bad I know that you are still good. Amen
–Keith Shoulders II
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