2 Corinthians 4:16-18 (HCSB)
Therefore we do not give up. Even though our outer person is being destroyed, our inner person is being renewed day by day. For our momentary light affliction is producing for us an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory. So we do not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.
There are two interwoven realities in the world: the physical, material dimension, and the spiritual, immaterial dimension. And, even though the physical dimension seems most real to our senses, it is a transitory reality. The spiritual dimension is actually the most real, and it is eternal.
There are people today who are physically disabled, but who are spiritual power houses, mighty in divine wisdom, powerful and effective in prayer, and intimately involved in all God is doing in the world. And there are many, far too many, who are impressive physical specimens, but whose spirits are dead and wasted away to nothing.
Some who met Paul were unimpressed with him. He was a short, thin, bald man, who sometimes moved slowly due to all the beatings he had endured, and who spoke thoughtfully (2 Corinthians 10:10). But on the inside, Paul was a spiritual powerhouse, comma because the Holy Spirit not only lived in him, He was able to work freely in and through him, because Paul had given Him free rein in his life.
Those who hung around Paul soon realized that, though he looked like he was wasting away outwardly, he was powerful in the Lord, finding new strength, power and passion every day. Paul didn’t dwell on his past sufferings and mistreatment at the hands of the enemies of the gospel. Instead, he considered them “momentary light afflictions”. He was continually focused on the big picture, on the end game instead of being focused on the present and its issues.
Father, it is so easy for us to lose our focus on You and Your eternal kingdom in the midst of the struggles, pains and annoyances of this present life. But, as Paul understood very well, this life is transitory, temporary, and will be finished far too soon. Help me, like Paul, to keep my focus on what is truly real, what is permanent, what is eternal: You and Your kingdom. If I do that, everything else will quickly fall into its proper place, and I will be able to focus better on what is most important at any moment, cutting through the static of the physical stuff, and I will be far more effective in Your work. Amen.