HAVING THE ETERNITY PERSPECTIVE

2 Corinthians 4: 14 We know, that God, who raised the Lord Jesus, will also raise us with Jesus and present us to himself together with you. 

16-18 That is why we never give up. .... For our present troubles are small and won't last very long. Yet they produce for us a glory that vastly outweighs them and will last forever! So we don't look at the troubles we can see now; rather, we fix our gaze on things that cannot be seen. For the things we see now will soon be gone, but the things we cannot see will last forever.

When you have time, read that passage again and let it sink in a bit. The Apostle Paul had been through shipwreck, stoning to the point of death, he'd had his back beaten and whipped several times, thrown into a stinking dungeon, in other words he'd been through a lot! Then he makes the astounding statement and says 'our present troubles are small and won't last very long!' He had a different perspective! He had 'the eternity perspective'.

How many of us when we get a thorn in our finger probably make a song and dance about it (speaking for myself) but Paul says these huge events in his life are small! But he gives us a brilliant clue as to how he does it. He says 'So we don't look at the troubles we can see now'.

There it is - it all depends on what we're looking at, what we're focusing on. He goes on and says he fixes his gaze on things that can't be seen. He's caught a revelation that whatever he goes through it will be far outweighed by the inheritance, the glory, God has promised him (and us) in eternity. There will be no comparison. He had 'the eternity perspective'.

He didn't deny what was going on but he learned not to focus all his attention on the rubbish that was happening to him and round him. Instead, with determination, he made himself look at what God promised him in scripture both for the here and now and also into eternity.

We can do that too!  With God's help we can learn to change our focus and remember the troubles wont last forever. When we find ourselves feeling down, God wants to help us all to remember to look up and let Jesus remind us of the glories He has prepared for us. So hang in there, don't be discouraged and don't give up. There are glorious things to come with your name on, both in the here and now and also in the life to come.😊 Amen.