2 Corinthians 4:16-18
So we’re not giving up. How could we! Even though on the outside it often looks like things are falling apart on us, on the inside, where God is making new life, not a day goes by without his unfolding grace. These hard times are small potatoes compared to the coming good times, the lavish celebration prepared for us. There’s far more here than meets the eye. The things we see now are here today, gone tomorrow. But the things we can’t see now will last forever.
Scripture quotations from The Message. © 1993, 1994, 1995, 1996, 2000, 2001, 2002 by Eugene Peterson. Used by permission of NavPress, Colorado Springs, CO. All rights reserved.
On NBC’s The Biggest Loser, there is a lot of discussion about what is taking place with contestants… both “on the outside” and internally. The coaches will readily point out that a mental shift is as important to permanent weight loss as the physical work. So when a contestant exercises vigorously all week and eats a careful diet… and then shows a very small reduction on the scale – or sometimes no weight loss at all – the coach is quick to note that we cannot always “see” the success that is taking place. Progress may still have been made… particularly in the form of an attitude adjustment. The primary focus is not on how many pounds are lost in any given week… but on what will be the final – and hopefully lasting – result. And the hope of making great strides in the long term is what keeps everyone from giving up.
In my lifetime, there have been many situations where I felt like things were falling apart on the outside… but I could not see the “new life” God was creating on the inside. When I taught a junior high Sunday school class, I came home discouraged most Sundays. I felt as if the kids didn’t understand what I was sharing with them… or care. People told me over and again, “You may never know the seeds you have planted.” There were similar feelings with some of my kindergarten and first grade students. Did I really teach them anything? Did God really use me to make a difference in their lives? Over time, I am realizing that the answer is a resounding… “YES!”
Some of the “results” are still questionable… while others are readily visible. I’ve reconnected with many of my students in recent years, particularly via Facebook. To see all that they have accomplished…to witness how they have developed into productive, upstanding, faith-filled adults... to hear them say, “I remember when you taught us this or that – or when we did such-and-such”… to hear a student say, “I was incredibly blessed to have a Sunday school teacher who cared so much for me and my classmates”…this tells me that something went right. God’s grace unfolds before me as I see how He has worked in these young lives.
In other situations, I am still waiting on answers and results… and I bet you are, too. Not everything in life will turn out like we anticipate or in the timetable we desire… and there will be plenty of times when we want to throw up our hands and say, “I simply cannot take this anymore.” But we must never give up! We must keep on listening for God’s wisdom and guidance… and doing what He wants us to do. We must trust Him to make the difference… to turn these “small potatoes hard times” into lavish good times through His amazing grace. We must have hope… and we must have it abundantly!
If we never physically “see” results from our efforts, we must have confidence that they still exist. If the scale never shows that we have lost an ounce, yet we are more fit and healthy than ever - and working hard to stay that way - we must trust that God’s not done with us yet. We must hope and wait on Him… and trust that what we can’t see is most certainly in the works – and built to last forever. Do you have this kind of hope in God’s power and promises? I'm not giving up... are you?
©2013 Debbie Robus
No comments:
Post a Comment