2 Corinthians 4:16-18
16 Therefore we do not lose heart, but though our outer man is decaying, yet our inner man is being renewed day by day. 17 For momentary, light affliction is producing for us an eternal weight of glory far beyond all comparison, 18 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.
We live in a fallen world, an unraveling universe that will end up like a pile of laundry on the floor of a dark closet corner. Our physical body is slowly decaying (OK, not so slowly), but our spiritual self is being renewed every day. How? By the weight of light, affliction translates into a heavyweight of glory on the eternal side simply because we are focused on spiritual, unseen things which are eternal in essence and value.
As we live out this process we don’t lose heart because glory is ever increasing in our lives and in heaven. This is a long-term exercise that often seems painful, but is one more insight into affliction and assures us that all is well if we’ll just hang in there and enjoy our internal renewal.
So choose to look up and out and enjoy the transformational work of God in your life. Also, cultivate a passion for what’s going on in Heaven – though you can’t physically see it yet, the day is closer by the second.