"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. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal." (2 Corinthians 4:16-18)
Wasting away isn't a pretty picture, but I used the phrase in a conversation today. I said that I wanted to be left to waste away. The person I was talking to didn't respond, and that only drove home the point that it can be dangerous to put our hope in people. Now I'm not saying that everyone is secretly selfish or not to be trusted. We need to trust at least some people, or we wouldn't be able to live productive lives. The point is that people are sinful, and everyone will let you down in one way or another. We go through life in a cycle of repentance and forgiveness. God, however, has never and will never let us down. He doesn't cause bad things to happen in our lives. He doesn't tempt us into calamity. He doesn't hurt us. He loves us, guides us, and saves us from our sin. Most importantly, He doesn't give up and leave us to wither. He strengthens us. When we feel as if we're wasting away, He saves us from hopelessness.
It may be a little upsetting to hear our troubles called "light" or "momentary". Many affect us deeply, and take a long time to overcome. It's okay to recognize how painful it is, but we need to also recognize that the trouble will end. Someday we will look at this time in our personal history and see how we've grown, as we do now with our past experiences. After we die, those troubles will fade from our memory in the endless bliss of heaven. The feeling of wasting away often comes in the midst of the hurting, when it's hard to see what there is to look forward to. I struggle daily with the fact that there's not much I can fix my imagination on, because I'm so caught up in the pain from hopes of this life that have been disappointed. Even the temporary things are hard to see at this moment, and those that I can see look bleak. But even now there are eternal things on which I can fix my sights. I can trust in those things, and they are worth waiting for.
When earthly trouble wears you down, remember to place your trust and hope in the eternal promises of our Father.
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