Episode 179: Thinking Differently About Affliction

Something we all go through is affliction.  We don't like it.  We don't want it.  But what if God is using it for your good?

Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome back to Words of Truth, where we bring biblical
encouragement and gospel truth everyday life. I'm your host, Mark Barrett,
and today we're talking about something that touches every single
one of us affliction, pain, loss, trouble suffering. But what

(00:22):
if we could learn to think differently about our afflictions.
What if, as strange as it sounds, our hardest seasons,
our most difficult experiences, we're preparing us for something well better,
something more than what we could imagine, something even more wonderful.

(00:45):
I know that's hard to believe or even to grasp,
especially if you're going through something right now, but let's
just take a minute to give some thought to that.
Today's podcast comes straight from Second Corinthian Chapter four Versus
sixteen to eighteen, a powerful reminder that there's far more

(01:05):
going on than we can see behind the scenes of
all our afflictions. Let me read it for us, And
so we did not lose heart. Though our outer self
is wasting away, our inner self is being renewed day
by day, for this light, momentary affliction is preparing for

(01:26):
us an eternal weight of glory beyond all comparison. As
we look not at the things that are seen, but
the things that are unseen. For the things that are
seeing are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal. Now,
let's be honest. Life Well, life is hard. Paul isn't

(01:51):
denying that he's lived it. He's been in sheperx, He's
been beaten with rods and whips for his message. He's
put in shackles and thrown into dungeons, he's betrayed by friends.
And yet he says, we do not lose heart. Why not? Well,

(02:12):
because Paul understood something that most of us forget, which
is that our outer self is wasting away, but the
inner self is being renewed. There's a reality going on
that's deeper than what we feel in our bodies and
in our circumstances. So if you're feeling like your strength

(02:34):
is gone, if you're feeling like your hope is thin,
or your body is failing, this word is for you. Listen.
God is still working day by day. He's renewing you
from the inside out. You see, iffliction doesn't mean God
has left. In fact, Paul says, it's doing something more.

(02:58):
It's preparing you. Verse seventeen is radical. Listen again for
this light, momentary affliction is preparing for us an eternal
weight of glory beyond all comparison. Now, let's pause there
for a minute. Does your suffering feel light and momentary?

(03:20):
Does it? No? Probably not? And you need to know
that Paul isn't minimizing your pain. He's just maximizing your future.
He's not saying that the suffering that you're going through
is not real, but he's saying that it will not
last forever, even though it might feel like it. And

(03:44):
when we compare it to the glory that's coming, it
doesn't even register on the scale. I mean, what's light
compared to weight? Or what's momentary compared to eternity? And
what's affliction compared to glory? You see, the pain you're
walking through right now isn't pointless, but it's preparing you

(04:09):
for something eternal, a glory that far outweighs every trial.
And by the way, this isn't wishful thinking. This is
a promise of God. Listen. God never wastes a tear,
He never wastes a season, He never wastes a wound.
Paul closes a section by shifting our focus when he says,

(04:32):
as we look not to the things that are seen,
but the things that are unseen. Now that's the key,
isn't it. So here's the question, where are your eyes focusing.
Our world is filled with seen things, hospital beds, unpaid bills,

(04:53):
empty chairs, broken relationships, sickness and death. These things scream
for our but they're all temporary. The unseen, which is
God's love, his presence, his promises, his eternal kingdom. That's
what's lasting. And it's when we lift our eyes from

(05:16):
the temporary to the eternal that we find strength and
peace and hope. Let me remind you of this. Jesus
himself suffered. Remember that. Yeah, Jesus suffered. He suffered deeply,
unjustly and painfully. But his suffering wasn't the end of

(05:38):
the story. Oh, the cross was real, but so was
the resurrection. And it's because of Jesus. Listen, it's because
of Jesus. Your afflictions don't have to be the final
word either. You see, if you belong to Christ, your
suffering isn't punishment, it's preparation. It's not meaningless, it's meaningful.

(06:03):
It's not eternal. Your glory is eternal. And so we
fix our eyes not on what is seen, but on
the unseen. We fix our eyes not on what is
breaking down, but on what is being renewed. We fix

(06:25):
our eyes not on what we've lost, but on what
we're gaining in Christ. Maybe today you're in the middle
of affliction. Can I encourage you don't lose heart. God
is doing something in you, even if you can't see it.
Let Him renew you day by day. Let today's pain

(06:49):
remind you of tomorrow's glory. And remember the light that
shines in your darkness is Christ himself. He hasn't forgotten you.
He's preparing something beautiful. Take heart in that. Thank you
for joining me today on words of Truth. If this

(07:10):
message encourage you to share it with somebody who needs hope,
and you can follow this podcast for more biblical encouragement
and gospel centered truth. Until next time, keep looking to
the unseen, keep trusting the one who's making all things new,
Keep living in the light of eternity. Bye for now.