Earthly Troubles – June 17, 2021

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

Earthly Troubles

Cancer. Alzheimer’s. Broken relationships. Job loss. Depression. Persecution. Life in this world is not short of troubles. We all have them. It is just a question of which troubles we have at any given time. So many things we experience weigh us down, and we are so often under pressure. So much so that these things can often seem unbearable.

So, who does the author of this verse think he is to call such troubles “light or momentary”? In a world that seems to care little or nothing for what we are going through, it is important to understand that God is not insensitive to what we are experiencing. Nor should we assume that he does not care about us or love us. It can be an easy thing for us to get angry with God or assume that he does not love us or is not there for us. God has not forgotten us!

But God does want us to see things from his perspective. Our heavenly Father sees all eternity and knows that our life span is but a tiny blip on the eternal timeline. He knows that if we stay the course and trust in Jesus, we have an eternal future waiting for us. When we leave this world, we have a place waiting for us, where we will experience perfect joy that will never end. This is all through Jesus, who endured his own momentary troubles for us. Because of his troubles on that day, Jesus has opened eternal life for us all.

Whatever it is you are going through right now, God wants you to view your troubles in comparison to the eternal joys of heaven. Our joy and the glory in heaven will not be momentary, and whatever we endured on earth will be “light” in comparison. Keep your eyes on your heavenly home and trust the Lord to bring you through all your earthly troubles into the glories of heaven.

Prayer:
Dear Father in heaven, give me strength for the troubles of today. Help me to see things from your perspective and to keep my eyes on my heavenly home. Amen.