Scripture Reading
2 Corinthians 4:17-18
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.
Reflection
Paul could call his afflictions "light" and "momentary" not because they were trivial — he had been beaten, shipwrecked, imprisoned — but because he held them against a scale that could bear the comparison. Suffering seen through the lens of eternal glory does not disappear, but it changes shape. The unseen is the more real; the eternal is the heavier weight.
Prayer for Today
Gracious God, only source of life and health: Help, comfort, and relieve me, and give your power of healing to those who minister to my needs; that my weakness may be turned to strength and confidence in your loving care; for the sake of Jesus Christ. Amen.
Amen.