Unfortunately, one of the promises Jesus gave us was written in John 16:33. He said that we would have trouble in this world. Yet somehow we always seemed surprised when we encounter troubles and set backs. I’m one of the biggest offenders. I like things to happen on schedule, the way I planned them, with no disruptions or issues. When things happen that mess up my plans, or I run into a period when nothing seems to go right, I lose my calm demeanor. I complain, and I let people and God know I’m not happy. My focus switches from long term to immediate, and in doing that, I lose my eternal perspective as well. In those times, I allow my troubles to block my view of God.
Consider Abraham. Hebrews 11:8 reminds us that God called him to leave his home where he had grown up and where his family was. God didn’t even tell him where he was going. He just said that He would show it to him. He and his wife Sarah lived in the land God promised him as a foreigner all his life. There was even a famine in the land that God took him to which forced him to leave for a period. Verse 10 says, “Abraham was confidently looking forward to a city with eternal foundations, a city designed and built by God” (NLT). Even when things didn’t happen the way he thought they should or in his timing, he kept looking past his troubles to God’s promises.
In 2 Corinthians 4, Paul starts out by saying they were pressed on every side by troubles, but they were not crushed. He continues talking about how constant his troubles are and that he keeps going and pushing forward. Then in the final verse of the chapter he writes, “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.” He is teaching us to keep an eternal perspective by looking past our current situation. We must rely on God’s promises when things are going wrong. Our faith in what God says should give us the strength to persist even in times of trouble. Don’t allow today’s issues cause you to lose sight of tomorrow’s fulfilled promises.
Photo by Jason Strull on Unsplash
Throwback Thursday is a feature I’m using to help build some margin into my schedule to pursue other ventures. Each Thursday I’ll be bringing you a previously written devotional that still speaks encouragement to us from God’s Word.
Devotions by Chris Hendrix 