In Light of Eternity

“While 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.” 2 Cor 4:18

No other words bring peace to my heart like the phrase “in light of eternity.” On a day like today that the world leaves me feeling dry and frustrated, the Lord springs to my mind those heavenly words. It’s so easy to get wrapped up in the chaos of the day when every conversation is negative or another problem to be solved. Then, every attempt at finding a solution to the problems leads to a dead end. When hours of life were wasted today on complete nothingness, it could be tempting to fall into despair.

Instead, as I sit here winding down, the Lord reminds me why He is the Prince of Peace. In a gentle whisper, He speaks the words “in light of eternity.” Amid the chaos, the fires of today seem so urgent. If problems aren’t solved immediately, all I can see is more problems. Yet, Paul tells us to look away from the things which are seen so that we can look at the things which are not seen. The problems of today are temporal, and I am allowing them to distract me from seeing what is eternal.

Not only do these problems distract me from seeing eternity today, but they lead me into worry about tomorrow. Then, I am distracted from the eternal tomorrow before tomorrow even begins. It is a cycle that needs to be broken and only Jesus knows how to break it. Jesus calls us to “…not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.” Matt 6:34. In the proceeding verses, Jesus tells us that the things of this world are not ours to worry about and the solution to all our worries is to “seek first the kingdom of God, and His righteousness…”

In other words, seek the eternal. We must ask ourselves some questions. If I don’t finish this project today, will it effect my eternal resting place? If this customer is still upset tomorrow, will it effect my eternal resting place? If I don’t cook dinner tonight, if there are unread emails in my inbox, if the laundry didn’t get finished today, if there are fingerprints on the glass doors, if my truck is still broke tomorrow or if my kid fails English…will it effect my eternal resting place? Plug in whatever stress ails you today and the answer is still NO. The only thing that will ever effect our eternal resting place is taking our eyes off of Jesus and seeking something other than Him to fulfill our needs.

Jesus, you are my Jehovah-Jireh seeing and providing my every need. Help me to remember through every struggle that all I need is You. Guide my eyes to Your kingdom when the day’s troubles start to cloud my sights. Remind me daily to take captive every thought and see all situations in light of eternity. In Jesus’ Name.