Christianity Oasis Forum

[Lani]

2 Corinthians 4:8-18

8 We are troubled on every side, yet not distressed; we are perplexed, but not in despair;
9 Persecuted, but not forsaken; cast down, but not destroyed;
10 Always bearing about in the body the dying of the Lord Jesus, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our body.
11 For we which live are always delivered unto death for Jesus' sake, that the life also of Jesus might be made manifest in our mortal flesh.
12 So then death worketh in us, but life in you.
13 We having the same spirit of faith, according as it is written, I believed, and therefore have I spoken; we also believe, and therefore speak;
14 Knowing that he which raised up the Lord Jesus shall raise up us also by Jesus, and shall present us with you.
15 For all things are for your sakes, that the abundant grace might through the thanksgiving of many redound to the glory of God.
16 For which cause we faint not; but though our outward man perish, yet the inward man is renewed day by day.
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory;
18 While we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen: for the things which are seen are temporal; but the things which are not seen are eternal.



Our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. 2 Corinthians 4:17 (NIV)




“Mike, the biopsy came back positive,” my doctor told me. “You have prostate cancer.” The diagnosis left me confused and dazed. When I told my wife and children, they cried. Anxiety crept into my heart and eroded my peace of mind.
My 22-year-old son, aware of my apprehension, counseled me with these words, “Dad, look at is as a speed bump.”

Cancer is only a speed bump on the highway of life? For days I weighed his words, and then I recognized there was some wisdom in them. The diagnosis of cancer caused me to “ease up on the gas pedal” – to slow down, to consider what truly matters, to take a second look at everything I had taken for granted; my relationship with the Lord, my marriage, even the beauty of a moonlit sky.

A Bible verse has brought me a measure of comfort: “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” (2 Cor. 4:16-17). That verse puts earthly trials into perspective. No matter how severe the affliction or how long it lasts, when we look back from eternity, it will be only a bump on the road home.



Prayer: Thank you, Lord, that our relationship with you can sustain us through whatever life brings. Amen.

Prayer Focus of Day: Those coping with a serious diagnosis.

Thought for the Day: Troubles are only speed bumps on the highway of life.

Story shared by: M Lewis (VA)
Source: Upper Room Daily Devotional: 10/5/11