This Day in History: 0000-01-16

January 16 – 2 Corinthians 4: 16-18 

… As God’s grace reaches more and more people, there will be great thanksgiving, and God will receive more and more glory.  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. 

What an important lesson in times of trial.  Oh how I needed these verses right now! I must confess that as I sit here writing this I am overwhelmed with conviction over this day I wasted in self-pity. Coupled with a somber, restless night in which my mind had been very attacked, a very minor setback in my quest for a personal goal stole my joy today. I’m afraid I allowed something silly to take my focus off of glorifying God and put it instead onto my own achievements.  Can you relate?  Do you ever feel like the life is being sucked out of you when your focus is on you and your troubles instead of on God and bringing Him glory? Will you confess these shortcomings along with me?  Let’s take this opportunity to reorient and get back to the work God has called us to! 

Precious friend, our goal; our mission here on this earth is to see men, women, boys, and girls come to the saving grace of Jesus Christ!  What are we doing today to achieve that goal?  How can we alter our course so that we are actively participating in seeing God’s grace reach more and more people?  The promise here is that as we do our spirits will be renewed even if our bodies are wasting away.  There will be great thanksgiving as God receives more and more glory, because we will be looking ahead to the eternal joy of Heaven.  The greater our trials, the more important it is that we find a way to share our faith with those who don’t know Him.  The more we are tempted to focus on the pain of today, the more vital it becomes that we put all our efforts into bringing Him glory.  It will shift everything and this temporary pain will lose it’s power over us and we will be filled with joy as God gives us rewards that will last forever!