Don't lose Heart

Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:16-18

“If you have run with the footmen, and they have wearied you, then how can you contend with horses? And if in the land of peace, in which you trusted, they wearied you, then how will you do in the floodplain of the Jordan?
Jeremiah 12:5

Of all the Apostles, Paul knew what it was to suffer for the cause of Christ. Of all the Prophets, Jeremiah is recorded to have cried and endured the most. Both of these men suffered horrible things to preach the word of God. Paul preached the Gospel to the Gentiles and suffered at the hands of his own people as well as the Gentiles. Jeremiah suffered at the hands of his people because He was the mouthpiece of God and the people did not want to hear what he had to say. Yet when you read these scriptures, you see that there is hope. How you might ask? Allow me to break it down for you.

In Jeremiah 12:5, God is speaking to Jeremiah concerning his suffering and weariness. Jeremiah was getting tired of the rebellion and violence of the Israelites who were worshiping false gods and did not want to heed the voice of the Lord. And he questions the Lord on how long will He endure the wickedness of these people. He asks God why doesn’t He just kill them and be done with them because they don’t have Him to think about. Pretty bold huh? Jeremiah knew that God had the power to knock these people off like flies, yet when God answers him, He shows His infinite mercy by asking Jeremiah (in my words): if you are tired of dealing with these people and they are still in their homeland, how will you deal with them, the enemy, and the things that will happen when they are in captivity? If you are weary of speaking the word and interceding during times of peace, when you thought all was well, then how will you manage when war rises up and it’s time for you to battle and stand in the gap? In other words God is saying if you can’t handle this (and I am not saying that it was easy), how will you manage the ministry that I want to put in your hands? When we complain we need to examine ourselves and remember that God backs up those whom He calls. When He called Jeremiah, He told him that He would always be with him, he would not be alone.

In the same way God uses Paul to encourage the Corinthians. Paul had been beaten, whipped, shipwrecked, and so close to death many times in journeys to preach the Gospel. He faced opposition on all sides, yet he tells these people that what we suffer is but a light affliction! Can you imagine being whipped one lash short of the death penalty and looking at it as a “light affliction”?? But Paul was a man who loved God and was sold out to Him to do whatever God wanted him to do and endure whatever he had to endure to get it done. Paul goes on to say that though the outward man perishes, the inward man is being renewed day by day. Praise the Lord!!! Though our physical bodies are tired and worn out, our brains are drained of thought and our emotions are weary from the battle, the inner man – our spirit man – the one that is born of the Spirit is renewed daily in Christ Jesus!! So why stress it? Every light affliction brings us to another level in glory. Everything that we go through brings ever closer to the Father as we draw near to Him in our afflictions. We are vulnerable and open to what God wants to do with us when we are afflicted or when we are in a trial. That is not to say that we should not seek God or that we don’t seek God when things are good, but there is something about pain that draws you closer to the Comforter, the One who can heal and restore you, the mender of broken hearts. We know that He provides our needs, He protects us, but when we draw near to God, He will draw near to us. That is why Paul says that the affliction that is but for a moment is working for us a far more exceeding glory because we are looking at the things of the spirit when we are looking at the things unseen because what we see is temporary. Praise God!

Lord helps us to endure our light afflictions like good soldiers and see the unseen that is eternal so that we will not lose heart. In Jesus name Amen!