For our light and momentary troubles are achieving for us an eternal glory that far outweighs them all. II Corinthians 4:17
Life can be hard. Sometimes this is for a moment and other times it's for much longer. I have several friends who are looking at life and death issues. There is pain, suffering, sadness and so much more that must be faced. The outcome is permanent. Permanent when thinking of this life. Permanent when thinking of the life to come.
Let's look at this verse in it's context.
16Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18while we look not at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen; for the things which are seen are temporal, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
In this passage, the point is not to fall into discouragement. Yes, through a host of circumstances, the human body is slowly losing strength after it reaches it's peak in early adulthood. This can be caused by the natural aging process, illness, disease, mental health, and accidents, to name a few. There is a bigger picture. This life and these difficulties are short compared to forever (eternity).
The difficulties and struggles in life produce what God desires. An eternal weight of glory. This is beyond any comparison from the temporal world. The proper focus is to look at eternity and see the difficulties of this life as God's manner of turning our eyes toward Heaven. The paradigm shift is focusing on eternity and all it has to offer rather than the circumstances of life.
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