The Treasure

But we have this treasure in jars of clay to show that this all-surpassing power is from God and not from us. We are hard pressed on every side, but not crushed; perplexed, but not in despair; persecuted, but not abandoned; struck down, but not destroyed… 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. For what is seen is temporary, but what is unseen is eternal. II Corinthians 4:7-9, 17-8

We are living in a fallen world. In that world, we can be described as: pressed, perplexed, persecuted, struck down. It’s possible that this describes your life right now. But our God promises that we are not crushed, desperate, abandoned or destroyed as a result of that stress. Why not? Because we have the treasure of the great power of God, in us and with us always. That treasure is often hidden when we’re hard pressed and perplexed by our circumstances. Hidden as others look at us and our circumstances or from us personally. We can have a hard time grasping or remembering that He is with us. But He is present with us and that’s a treasure. It’s a promise and we can believe it and lean on it in the worst of circumstances. Our weakness and brokenness is a perfect background to display His power and love. Like diamonds on a background of black velvet.

When we get to look back on the troubles in our lives from the perspective of heaven, while we are standing next to Jesus, we will see how “light and momentary” those troubles are in comparison. Light weight compared to the weight of God’s glory and the pleasures on living in His City. Momentary compared to eternity. So like the apostle says: let’s “fix our eyes on what is unseen.” Because that is what really lasts.