“That is why we never give up. Though our bodies are dying, our spirits are being renewed every day. 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.”
Perseverance is rooted in hope. We persevere when we believe that what awaits us is worth the fight.
After traversing the realities of earthly trouble in his letter to the Corinthians, showing how the hope of the gospel transforms a Christian’s hurts, Paul’s conclusion is simply this: “We do not lose heart” (v. 16, NIV). Jesus has risen and will bring us into his presence! Our hope in Christ is secure and unshakeable.
But Paul’s eyes are not only on the future. He knows that this fight of faith is accomplishing something else of great worth along the way: the renewing of our inner selves, even while our outer selves are wasting away. His point is this: Suffering changes us, for the better, right now.
What rejoicing there is when we realize that the Holy Spirit is producing Christlike character in us! When the road goes uphill, when our faith feels weak but proves strong enough, when we see the Spirit changing us bit by bit along the way, we realize: We are justified! We do have peace with God. We can and we will enjoy access to his grace! Our hope is real. This is how you rejoice even during—and perhaps especially during—times of suffering.
Reflect:
Read 2 Corinthians 4:16–18. What aspects of your outer self do you tend to focus on? What changes in your inner self have you discerned through times of suffering?
Pray:
Ask God to produce in you an enduring faith that proves to be genuine through your trials.
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