No Other Rock

For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, worketh for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory. II Corinthians 4:17

Consider your afflictions. You know, those things that are nagging you. Digging at you. Making you stress out. Troubling your soul.

This verse teaches us about God’s view of our afflictions.

• Their nature: They’re never accidental; they are divinely permitted with a purpose, and overruled to our eternal good, if we bear them devoutly.
• Their weight: As Paul calls them, they’re “our light affliction” - but how they weigh upon us! But indeed, they are light when compared to the glory in the yet-to-be.
• Their duration: Sometimes, afflictions seem to go on endlessly. But ultimately, they end. And no matter how long they last, in comparison with those rolling ages yet to be, they really are for a brief moment.
• Their utility: Our afflictions “worketh for us.” They give scope for the exercise and development of faith. They stabilize and mature us. The lead us to self-examination and purification. Ultimately, they drive us closer to Christ.

Today, my prayer for you and I is that we will learn to view everything - even our afflictions - in the light of eternity.