HOW HEAVY IS YOUR BURDEN?

USE YOUR IMAGINATION!

9   But as it is written:
     “Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
 nor have entered into the heart  of man

      The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”
10  But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit.
      For the Spirit searches all    
      things, yes, the deep things of God.
1 Corinthians 2:9-10

If we stretch the envelope of our imagination as far as it can go, we cannot begin to conceive of the glory of God!

For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worthy to be compared with the glory which shall be revealed in us.
Romans 8:18

Whatever you are going through, whatever pain you may feel at this moment, however confused or uncertain your future may seem, think on these wonderful truths!

No child of God who crosses over to be with Him in eternity will ever survey the glories of heaven and declare that their suffering while on earth was too great to make it worth being there!

16 Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. 
17 For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory,
2 Corinthians 4:16-17

Paul has a lot of nerve calling our afflictions light, doesn't he? He has no idea what you or I are going through right now!

It isn't because Paul took his or our afflictions lightly and neither does our Heavenly Father!

God is not flippantly saying that you should "cheer up" or "life is just a bowl of cherries" as an old song goes. He is well acquainted with our sufferings! He is close to us in the good times and in the bad.

The Holy Spirit inspired Paul to use phrases such as "light afflictions" and "but for a moment" to encourage us in our heavy burdens.

Yes our burdens can seem very heavy and weigh us down and God feels our pain!

THE POINT IS THAT, IN COMPARISON TO THE FAR MORE EXCEEDING AND ETERNAL WEIGHT OF GLORY, OUR AFFLICTIONS WILL SEEM LIGHT!

When we finally cross that final bridge from this world to the eternal life God has planned for us,  WE WILL VIEW ANY PRICE WE MAY HAVE PAID AS SMALL AND ANY SUFFERING WE MAY HAVE ENDURED AS LIGHT!

WHAT ARE WE LOOKING AT?
Paul makes it clear that, correct perception in comparing our present reality with the eternity God has planned for us, is an important key to victory in trials!

...while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal.
2 Corinthians 4:18

We must constantly renew our minds and choose to look at the unseen eternal things of God rather than the seen, temporary things of this world. This is not some kind of Jedi mind trick but it is a purposeful decision to keep our eyes on God and eternity rather than on the problems of today!

This mindset is the pursuit of a lifetime rather than some "mantra" we repeat to cheer ourselves on bad days.

Growth in exercising an eternal perspective is cumulative. As we grow in the knowledge of God and in our relationship with Him, as we hide His word in our hearts and develop a quality prayer life, our capacity to see as God sees will also grow!

Then our eyes will be increasingly opened to see that the eternal weight God's glory is infinitely greater than ANY afflictions or suffering we may experience right now or in our lifetime!