HOW TO KEEP FROM LOSING HEART | 2 Corinthians 4:16-18 | Living with Hope Podcast

hey guys is Peter fry and welcome to the living with hope podcast a daily devotional where we dig into God's Word and explore what it means to live with hope in Jesus second Corinthians chapter 4 verses 16 through 18 so we do not lose heart though our outer self is wasting away our inner self is being renewed day by day for this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison as we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen for the things that are seen are transient but the things that are unseen are eternal here in this passage Paul is describing how we keep from losing heart how we keep from giving up in the midst of suffering as you know the verses and chapters that led up to this moment here in 2nd Corinthians 4 have been all about how suffering is not a hindrance to God's plan in fact it's at the heart of it because as we see in the gospel the good news of Jesus this treasure that we have in jars of clay suffering is at the heart of what Jesus walked through of how he accomplished victory over sin and death and that through his over resurrection we see that suffering is not the end and so it's through suffering that God delights in showing his resurrection power as it said in 2nd Corinthians 4 verse 7 we have this treasure the treasure of the gospel the good news of Jesus in jars of clay broken ordinary vessels that are wasting away and that's the first thing that Paul points us to here in second Corinthians 4 16 through 18 about how we keep from losing heart is that we focus on inward renewal rather than outward wasting away he says though our ourselves are wasting away our inner selves are being renewed day by day and Paul's not talking about the outer and the inner as if our bodies are this dualistic sense that there's the physical sense and then the spiritual sense but he is he is describing on one hand from one perspective we're suffering we're broken we're wasting away but if we shift our perspective and we turn our eyes to Jesus as it says in 2nd Corinthians 3 verse 18 as we with unveiled faces behold the glory of the Lord we are being transformed there's this inner renewal that happens that we are strengthened and so while we are weakened from one's perspective our bodies get weaker we grow weary we are experiencing the flexion of brokenness and disease and persecution and and the weariness of anxiety and depression and as we look at our lives from one perspective yes we are getting torn down but as we look to Jesus we are being built up and now and when we talk about shifting our perspective from outward wasting away to inward renewal we aren't talking about some positive thinking we're talking about shifting our perspective from the things of Earth to the things of heaven as a says in verse 18 as we look not to the things that are seen because these things around us they're the transient here today gone tomorrow the things that our world puts hope in finds positivity in these things will fade away but as we look to that which will not fade away the lasting enduring glory of Jesus in the face of Jesus of God in the face of Jesus we are transformed we are strengthened we're renewed day by day and I think it's an important aspect to notice here that this is a renewal that happens it has to happen daily we need it's not that we get this injection of strength on days when we go to church or when we crack open our Bible that one day a week but it is a day-by-day renewal process and so how do you keep from losing heart getting the word every day get on your knees every day and spend time turning your eyes from that which you see the outward wasting away the depression the anxiety the overwhelming realities of this broken world and turn your eyes to Jesus and there's this inner renewal that happens and we don't always feel it but there starts to become this perspective shift and that's what verse 17 describes it says this light momentary affliction now when I read that but I think Paul you must be like you stubbed your toe you got a paper cut light momentary affliction that sounds pretty trivial but as we know from st. grandia's chapter 9 and other places Paul has been walking through the ringer of suffering he's been beaten shipwrecked he's been starved he's anxious all of these realities he's going through the thick of it but in that he's able to have this perspective shift where he's saying these light momentary afflictions and here's why he says this light momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison and so what Paul does as he turns to Jesus for inward renewal his suffering is put on the perspective of this this scale of glory and he says the glory that is to come far out passes and there's no way to compare it to what I'm walking through today and so his future hope grounds him in present strength because he knows that what is coming doesn't even compare it is beyond all comparison to the suffering that we through today and so as he places his suffering on the scales of glory his perspective starts to shift and and starts to see that God is using these present sufferings to prepare for us an eternal weight of glory I don't know what and how this all works that God is using our present sufferings to prepare an eternal weight of glory but I have to imagine that just as in my suffering I experienced the God of all comfort in a fuller way that in and through my suffering I'm going to experience eternal glory in a fuller and a way that is beyond all comparison and so God is at work he is able to redeem the most hard and hurtful things in our lives to use them for good and so we we fix our eyes by faith on the things of our hope there's these certainties of what is yet to come and as we do we are strengthened it's like the glory of the resurrection reaches into the depths of our souls and brings about pave renewal a shift in perspective and it gives us strength that we can say with Paul we do not lose heart you

Channel: Peter Frey

Views: 4,058

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Keywords: peter frey, living with hope podcast, daily devotional, christian vlogger, bible study, daily bible study, bible study resources, peter frey preaching

Id: hbRjOmmv92Y

Length: 8min 10sec (490 seconds)

Published: Thu Mar 05 2020