Hallelujah

We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed.

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, since what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal.

2 Corinthians 4:8-9, 16-18 (NIV)

Are you detecting a theme in Paul’s writing? Because we don’t want to anticipate suffering, and because we tend to think about our own circumstances as primary—every minute of every day, if we’re being honest—we might think the shared experience of human suffering was Paul’s main point. It wasn’t.

Eternal life in Jesus Christ was, and still is, the main point.

This fight isn’t the end of the story for any person who trusts in Jesus. For now, you’ll be afflicted, perplexed, persecuted, and struck down. Your skin will age, and your health will decline. But what you can’t see is that your inner person experiences renewal day by day. You’re not crushed. You’re not in despair, abandoned, or destroyed. If you trust in Jesus Christ as Lord and Savior, there is within you what Paul described as “an absolutely incomparable eternal weight of glory!”

That’s the reason you can bring your storm-tossed, torn-sail, story-to-tell hallelujah. It’s why you can bring your hard-fought, heartfelt, it-is-well hallelujah. Victory is coming. Even if it’s hard-fought, it’s still promised. Hallelujah! So sing God’s praises even when you have to fight for it.

• In your own words, what reason do we have to not give up when we’re suffering?
• Practically, what can you do to “not focus on what is seen, but on what is unseen”?
• Praise God that He promises an end to our suffering. In the meantime, ask Him to help you better understand the difference between the destruction of the outer person and the renewal of the inner person who will live forever in perfect community with Jesus in heaven. Ask Him to help you focus on the unseen and thank Him for worship songs that help you do that.